Heartbeat, November 2023

November 2023

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 171

Organ donors save four lives in 48 hours

Page 18

Colleagues from our fantastic theatres team at SWB

Crystal scoops first ARC Star Award

Celebrate Christmas with the Chaplaincy Team

Marking one year of Virtual Wards

Skin tone prostheses donated to Trust

Page 3

Page 7

Pages 14-15

Page 22

Lesley talks about...the stars across our sites Lesley Writtle, Deputy Chair

HELLO FROM THE CHAIR Welcome to the November edition of Heartbeat.

This month, we're celebrating our stars - our first ARC Star Award recipient Crystal on page three, our Rising Star and Distinguished Service Award winner on pages 16-17, and the five stars awarded to the day nursery on page six, to name but a few!

And talking of stars, Christmas is on the way: you can learn more about celebrating Christmas with the Chaplaincy Team and patients on page seven.

Enjoy J

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

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:

@swbhnhs

Earlier this month, I was privileged to meet our first ARC star winner on site at Oldbury Health Centre. An ARC Star is someone who consistently lives our Trust values of Ambition, Respect and Compassion. They will go above and beyond to make a difference to both their colleagues and patients. They display our values and behaviours in everything they do. So, it was congratulations to Crystal Campbell, District Nursing Nurse Associate.

She has been singled out for her determination within the Trust and aspires to develop within her work, striving to deliver outstanding levels of care and compassion to our patients. I made a surprise visit to Crystal and the team to show our appreciation for all the great work she is doing.

and the programme of staff development.

The directorate has worked to ensure there is a career pathway from B2 Care Assistant to B8B Nurse Consultant with a clear emphasis on valuing a true multi-disciplinary approach (including ODPS. Optometrists, Orthoptists, Clinical Scientists and Nurses) to delivering exemplary care.

I also undertook a visit to the pharmacy department earlier in the month and I was shown the wide range and diverse service the Trust had to offer, including but not limited to, medicine-related governance and legislation, storage and secure handling of medicines and clinical expertise around medicines in a number of specialist areas.

One point to emphasise to areas would be if you were planning to do anything in relation to medicines, please do get pharmacy colleagues involved.

BMEC was the next location I visited and well what a wonderful visit, I really did learn a lot about this wonderful service. I arrived early in the morning to see quite a few people waiting and learned that this was our urgent care eye service. Patients were swiftly seen, triaged, investigated and treated. What impressed me most was how pleasant and caring the staff were. Clearly if you are arriving to receive urgent care you will definitely be anxious, but everyone was calming and reassuring. It’s a very busy place with 15,000 outpatient appointments a month, around 150 patients registered through BMEC ED each day and 54 scheduled theatre lists per week; it clearly has to be very well organised and I saw that first hand. I also had an opportunity to chat to some of our service users, quite a few who have used our services for a significant amount of time. I was shown the Visual Function Department which provides a tertiary level diagnostic service for children as well as adults. Not only was I impressed with the technology used, but also the focus on creating the right environment for our young people to feel at ease when having diagnostic tests.

As I met staff in all departments I was really struck by two things: the strong emphasis on good leadership, reflecting our Trust values Ambition Respect and Compassion,

Lesley meeting colleagues across the Trust

Crystal scoops the first ARC Star Award We’re delighted to reveal the first winner of our ARC Star Award, Crystal Campbell, who has shown real commitment to delivering compassionate care to her patients.

values throughout their everyday life and will go above and beyond to make a difference within their team and towards their patients.

Karen Stanford, who nominated Crystal, said: “She is an amazing individual who is training Nearly 100 colleagues were nominated for to become a band 5 nurse. Crystal acts the award, which reflects our Trust values of professionally and delivers excellent patient care, Ambition Respect and Compassion, but it going the extra mile by supporting a patients’ was the nurse associate who stood out to the family. She is compassionate and shows real judges. empathy, also helping colleagues within her team and I thoroughly enjoy working with her. Crystal She was presented with a certificate, pin-badge has really grown as a person and a nurse and is and a £50 voucher by Deputy Chair, Lesley continuously striving to improve and advance Writtle who said it was “lovely to surprise her within her career.” with the award”.

Lesley added: “I was delighted to be asked to Crystal, who works within the Purple District present the ARC Star Awards – our people are Nurse Team, said: “I can’t believe that I’ve our greatest asset and this is a great opportunity become the first person in the Trust to win for colleagues to be recognised for the difference this award. I’m honoured and proud to be they make to our patients, people and the recognised.” population of Sandwell and West Birmingham.

The recipient of the newly established ARC Star The compassion Crystal has shown towards her patients and colleagues has been outstanding.

Award is someone who consistently lives our

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS “She is a real example of someone who lives our Trust values through her work – it was lovely to be able to surprise her with her award.”

Watch Lesley surprise Crystal with her award by searching ‘ARC star’ on Connect or visiting the Trust’s Youtube channel.

Do you know someone who could be our next ARC Star? Nominate them now by visiting www.surveymonkey. co.uk/r/arcstar. Nominations close on 21 December.

Crystall Campbell receiving her award, presented by Lesley Writtle, Deputy Chair and Karen Stonehouse, Lead of the Purple District Nursing Team

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Patient ambassador programme launch is a big success CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS The patient experience team hosted their personalisation of care event where they launched their brand-new patient experience ambassador programme across the Trust.

The ambassadors are an essential link between patients, carers and relatives, and will improve patient experience and wellbeing by advocating and channelling their voices. The ambassadors will work closely with the patient experience team, carers forums and groups to ensure that communication is inclusive and supports the patient experience in a positive way.

The event was opened with remarks from Dr Mark Anderson, Chief Medical Officer, who shared his own personal experience. Key speakers included Jill Fraser, Chief Executive of Kissing It Better, Cath Beddows from Making It Happen and Dr Mike McCabe, founder of #CallMe and Consultant Anaesthetist at Worcester Royal Acute Hospital Trust.

The event also included a focus on personalisation of care after death, delivered by Sue Edwards, Bereavement Lead. Sarah Clarke and the team on the stroke ward, Newton 4, discussed their new programme in place to enhance personalisation of care to their patients.

Personalisation of care focuses on patients having choice and control over the way their care is delivered: this can be ensuring that they are called by the correct name, maintaining eye contact, and are treated as an individual during their stay. NHS England recently set out their long-term plan that highlighted the importance of personalisation of care being one of their major changes set to roll out across all NHS organisations throughout 2023 – 2024.

Julie Thompson, Patient Experience Manager, added: “It takes 60 seconds to enhance a patient’s wellbeing whilst they’re in our care.

How we treat our patients today impacts them for life. I am really pleased to announce that we’ve launched our new patient experience ambassador programme and we’ve had over 40 people apply for the role already!”

Dr Mike McCabe presented his campaign

Dr McCabe, founder of #CallMe speaks at the personalisation of care event

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#CallMe where he discussed a previous interaction where a patient was being called their birth name, rather than their preferred name. After conducting research within his hospital Dr McCabe discovered 30 per cent of patients would prefer to be called by their preferred name rather than the name they were assigned to at birth, and the social movement #CallMe was born.

Jamie Emery, Head of Patient Experience, said: “The response to our new ambassador programme has been amazing, it’s so great to see so many colleagues passionate about ensuring our patients have a clear communication channel and can support and improve patient experience. Personalisation of care is a vital part of patient treatment, it’s such a simple change that can have a huge impact on our patient’s long term.”

If you would like to be a patient experience ambassador on your ward or area, please contact Jamie or Julie via jamie.emery2@nhs.net or julie.thompson40@nhs.net.

A new digital future coming in 2024 – are you ready?

2024 promises to be an exciting year for SWB - not only will we have a brand new hospital, but also a brand new website and intranet!

The new intranet will allow us further improve internal communications both across the hospital and across our community sites, allow colleagues to easily access all their details and information in one area, stay up to date with all the latest goings on at SWB and will encourage staff to engage with each other and share ideas in a professional setting.”

In the fast-paced environment of digital communications and social media, it is vital we stay ahead of the curve to ensure staff and patients are communicated with consistently Manisha Chahal, External Communications and effectively. With this in mind, we have made the decision to create an new staff portal Officer, is working within the team on the intranet and a new patient facing website. development of the website and echoes Anil’s thoughts.

Anil Patel, Internal Communications and Engagement Manager, believes the new She said: “Just like the intranet, our Trust website intranet page (which will replace Connect) was in need of a refresh. The majority of people will revolutionise the way in which we who visit our website do so by a smartphone communicate with colleagues. device which is why we need to ensure it is optimised in way which works effectively and He said: “Although Connect has served us seamlessly with a minimum amount of clicks. well over the past few years, it is no longer Having a good website is important for any fit for purpose. With us living in a digital age organisation especially an NHS Trust, as it it is essential the organisation updates its allows us to reach more people, build our brand intranet site as with the right platform, it will presence, improve our credibility and most be invaluable tool for communicating targeted importantly serve our patients and improve the messaging to staff across all levels, both clinical patient experience for anyone who accesses our and non-clinical. services, whether that be patients or their loved ones.”

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS As part of these projects, the communications team need to make sure all content on both sites including your user generated content is accurate and up to date, as we are planning on moving the important parts of the site over to a new platform.

Manisha is urging all colleagues to contact the communications team with their up-todate content for both the intranet and the external website.

“If you haven’t done so already, please make sure you reach out to us with your content by early December it can be added to our sites. Our aim is to streamline content and make it more easily accessible for our end users but we cannot do that without you.”

Should you need assistance or support around your intranet pages or you external website pages, please 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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Five stars for Sandwell day nursery CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS Sandwell Day Nursery was recently awarded a five-star environment certificate following a recent inspection.

The Sandwell Hospital based nursery, established 54 years ago in 1969, cares for up to 68 children a day and recently obtained a five-star rating as a result of the high-quality food and hygiene standards held by the organisation.

“We have always maintained high standards of food and hygiene, and in addition we follow certain procedures to make sure we cater for child allergies and dietary requirements,” said Emma Collier, Nursery Manager.

“Receiving a five-star environmental certificate just cements this and only makes the parents of the children we look after feel more assured that their children are well looked after when in our care.”

The strong rating is a snapshot of the standard of food hygiene found at the time of inspection which includes handling of food,

Nursery colleagues with the youngest members of our SWB Family

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how food is stored, how food is prepared, cleanliness of facilities and how food safety is managed.

Toni Carr, Deputy Nursery Manager echoes Emma’s positivity and said: “I feel immensely proud of all the team for achieving such a huge feat! Without their hard work and dedication it wouldn’t be possible so I must say thank you to them all.”

She added: “On occasions it can be challenging looking after the individual dietary needs of young children so to be a given a five-star environment certificate should be celebrated.”

Join our chaplaincy team throughout the festive period!

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS

Blessings of Christmas”. Christians view the

This year’s theme is “

birth of Jesus Christ as the greatest gift and best expression of blessing to

humanity. The Christmas blessing is a person and is given to the world. It also encourages us to reflect that in our lives as we share our various blessings to others, especially those who are in need. To joyfully celebrate, our Chaplaincy Team will be hosting a series of festive events throughout the Christmas period across sites as supported by different groups and churches in the community.

Sandwell: General Hospital • Monday 4 December: advent calendar giving and carol singing to children's wards • Wednesday 13 December, 18:00 – 20:00: carol singing on the wards • Wednesday 20 December,12.30 – 13:15: carol service (ecumenical and multi-cultural) at Sandwell Chapel (second floor, main block), with refreshments to be served until 14:00 • Monday 25 December, 09:00: Christmas morning celebration and communion at Sandwell Chapel (second floor, main block)

City: Hospital • Wednesday 13 December, 18:00 – 20:00: carol singing on the wards • Thursday 21 December, 12.30 – 13:15: carol service (ecumenical and multi-cultural) at City Chapel (first floor, opposite D20), with refreshments to be served until 14:00 • Monday 25 December, 11:00: Christmas morning celebration and communion at City Chapel (first floor, opposite D20), followed by gift giving to nominated wards

Rowley Regis Hospital • Friday 15 December, 18:00 – 20:00: carol singing on the wards

Leasowes: • Thursday 21 December, 15:00 – 17:00: carol singing at the wards

Colleagues are also most welcome to join us for the carol singing on the wards as we spread the blessings of Christmas.

For more information the team can be reached at City on ext. 4055/5051 and at Sandwell on ext. 3552/3557.

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CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS

My part in Midland Met

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

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

Getting us to Midland Met is a team effort.

We all have a part to play in making it #morethanahospital!

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

I have worked at the Trust for 33 years, starting in September 1990 as a rotational physiotherapist. I’m currently working as a senior commissioning manager as part of the Midland Met programme.

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

I joined the Midland Met project team in 2014 as a nine-month secondment. I was involved in supporting clinical engagement and design development. My secondment was extended, and my role became permanent to utilise the knowledge and experience I had gained.

I provide the link between the project and the clinical teams, particularly women and child health services, critical care and the adult inpatient wards, answering queries and providing information. I also support the site tours taking clinical teams around the site to see the locations they will be working in.

My role involves working closely with our construction partner, Balfour Beatty, to:

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Progress the benchmark rooms

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Develop wayfinding

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

My role is to assist Balfour Beatty in completing Midland Met, helping to resolve issues as they arise and getting information from the clinical teams, when required, to support decision making.

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Support the development of the fire cause and effect work

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Undertake a review of the areas as the Balfour Beatty work get completed to ensure that they are clinically functional

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Develop the plans for the orientation and navigation of staff at Midland Met

I review spaces to ensure they are as intended and meet the standards agreed upon through the benchmark process.

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Taking the infection prevention and control team around the site every four weeks to review progress and solve problems as they arise.

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

The focus of my role is to assist the Trust with

I support services and teams moving into Midland Met to allow them to prepare for their moves. I’m the point of contact for any queries that may arise among the teams I support.

the process of completing the construction of Midland Met, supporting the activation period when we prepare the finished building to become a hospital ready to deliver healthcare and assisting the teams move successfully to Midland Met. When Midland Met becomes operational, my role will be to assist, as required, to embed the teams and ensure that any issues they identify are managed appropriately.

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

Our acute services will be located on one single site allowing care to be delivered in an efficient way with seven-day services for our local population.

Communicating effectively with our deaf community IMAGING The breast screening team invited the Sandwell Deaf Community Association (SDCA) to train colleagues around how they communicate with patients who are hard of hearing.

causes them a great deal of anxiety, when they attend appointments and receive care. The study session was really insightful, we learned a lot and it will definitely help staff in supporting the people we serve from that community."

It involved learning basic sign language skills relating to breast screening and a presentation from representatives from the organisation who highlighted the issues patients face in their daily lives and when visiting NHS services.

Around 40 colleagues were at the training which was well received.

Jamie Emery, Patient Insight and Involvement Lead, introduced the team to SDCA so they could organise the session. He said: “The BSL community have told us the healthcare is often really difficult to navigate for them and this

Claire Murphy, Health Promotion Specialist, said: “The team found the session extremely valuable in improving the way we communicate with the deaf community. Feedback has been really positive and we would recommend other services within the Trust to engage with SDCA with the view of undergoing the training.”

One colleague said of the session: “The awareness the session bought surrounding the deaf community and their difficulties so I can be better and more self-aware when I interact with them. It was very informative and made us aware of how important sign language is.

Also, practicing how to do sign language was good, especially as it was related to breast imaging.”

Another added: “I was surprised at how much I hadn’t considered deafness can impact an individual on a daily basis in the hearing world.

A yearly refresher would be great.”

Members from the SDCA deliver a deaf awareness session to the breast screening team

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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.

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS To – Nirmal Kaur Nirmal has gone above and beyond to cover maternity wards when we have been short of staff. She always works hard to provide the best service for our maternity patients. Nirmal always helps in providing support to her colleagues.

Thank you Nirmal, your hard work is appreciated!

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

To – Jo Wright, Avnash Nanra, Fatema Amujee

To – GTS Drivers

To the Paediatric Ward Managers and their teams this week for being flexible whilst managing continuing pressure for staffing and for ensuring our children are receiving the best possible care.

Thank you to all the GTS driver for going above and beyond to ensure that all duties were covered last week, due to short staffing levels. You are all a credit to the department and should be proud of yourselves.

From – Cheryl Newton

From – Jay Sian

To – Claire Percival

To – Neonatal Unit

Thank you Claire for going above and beyond for our patient in Endoscopy.

A gentlemen came in who was in need of a shower before his procedure. Staff overheard that he had no hot water at home and he felt embarrassed to ask, whilst he was speaking to his next of kin. Claire went to the shop and not only bought the man shower gel but deodorant and toothpaste. After his shower, he was so happy and when being discharged he was very thankful to the staff.

A big shout out to Neonatal Unit and every member here for such a warm welcome. As an international nurse it is overwhelming, but each and every staff In the unit has been very very supportive.

Every shift lead I have worked with have been immensely patient with me and so are are all the other co-workers I have ever worked with. Could not be more blessed to be part of such an amazing team.

From – Erin Murphy

To – Paul Welcome For taking the time to teach the Gynae 6A staff how to do online ordering. In my experience Paul goes the extra mile everyday. He is an asset to the trust.

From – Tiffany jones

To – Justin Hughes Justin at a moments notice showed myself and the bereavement nurse around the laundry enabling us to understand the process and the amazing work that they do to keep our hospital running. The supply of pjs and nighties that are available in abundance to enable dignified personalised care was evident and the ablity to wash patients own clothes. I was impressed by Justin's passion for his role and enthusiasm to ensure the service is delivered.

From – Julie Thompson

From – Emma Chamberlain To – Angela Hinton To – Lauren Eyre Lauren goes above and beyond to ensure our clinic is managed effectively and remains up to date to enable our team to deliver the RSV Palivizumab to our most vulnerable babies to help protect them this winter.

To – Tipton HV team

"Can I just say that I have thoroughly enjoyed my week with your team, they have all made me feel so welcome and a part of the team. Kiran was my supervisor, and she has been absolutely brilliant. I have learnt so much whilst being here, the exposure was well needed and everyone here has had some sort of involvement with teaching me new things. I was extremely nervous about this placement and the fact that the team are so welcoming, and inclusive really put my mind at ease. Going into a new area which is alien to you makes it so difficult, but again your team have been amazing. So, I thought it would be good to give you some feedback on my time spent here and thank you for having me."

From – Yvonne Copeland

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Met Angela on my first day at ASU and she greeted me with a pleasant smile and did not hesitate to provide introductions.

Angela is loved by us as students and we collectively would like to let her know '' SHE IS ONE IN A MILLION'' From – Student Nurses (RNDA)

Thank you Lauren!

From – Carmen Nuttall

They received positive feedback from a student nurse about the nurturing environment:

From – Deepa Thapa

To – Natasha Freeman and Laura Meredith Without Natasha's help and team work this week, it's likely that no surgical patients would have received dietetic input this week, I couldn't have gotten through this week without your help!

Laura for getting me a cappucino from Costa on a busy and stressful morning.

To – Mr. Abdul-Jabbar Ghauri Consultant Paediatric Ophthalmologist at BMEC Thank you for going over and above helping me to map the referral process for Paediatrics in preparation for EeRS. Furthermore, Mr Ghauri was en route to the airport, he promptly took my call, reviewed the process flows before his departure. Your selflessness and dedication are truly commendable. Thank you very much.

From – Ruby Kitcher

From – Holly Roberts To – Jag Uppal To – Lucy Keates Working with Lucy to improve transition from the Children's Epilepsy Team to the Adult Epilepsy Team has been a joy. She is kind, knowledgeable and fantastic with our teenage patients who are anxious about the next steps into the adult world!

Thank you Lucy it has been an absolute joy!

Thank you Jag for supporting the wellbeing of the Tipton Health Visiting team. Jag always makes sure that everyone's birthday is noted with flowers/ gift and a card. She puts a lot of effort into making us all feel valued and included and her thoughtfulness helps to brighten the day. You're a star.

From – Louise Fisher

From – Gaynor Roberts

Scientist studies to help patients manage their underactive thyroid MEDICINE AND EMERGENCY CARE Colleagues with an underactive thyroid are being urged to come forward for a research study to improve the way the condition is monitored.

The Trust is part of the Black Country Pathology Services (BCPS), where James Pethick, Principal Clinical Scientist, is leading a study called “What are patients’ and doctors’ perceptions of self-management of primary hypothyroidism and the barriers and facilitators to different types of selfmanagement.”

Primary hypothyroidism affects around four per cent of people in the UK and is

James Pethick

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more common in women than men. It means patients have an underactive thyroid gland (the small gland found in the neck) which does not produce enough hormones, and this can slow down many organs in the body.

medication. If you meet these criteria you should get involved.

Symptoms include tiredness, weight gain, depression and loss of appetite and there are several causes including autoimmune disease and mineral deficiency. It can also be hereditary or sparked by a viral illness.

“It will focus on people’s experience of monitoring their condition and the clinical team here at BCPS would like to know more about this, as well as hear from doctors in primary care. Research is vital to help us find out what patients want and whether we can work in partnership, with medical experts, to provide this.

James, who is based at City Hospital, is working with the University of Manchester as part of his professional doctorate qualification on the study, which aims to recruit up to 50 participants.

“This is my first study, and I am also working with relevant organisations to help us collectively gain a better understanding of what it is like to live with this condition and where improvements may be possible.”

He said: “The study is aimed at people who have had hypothyroidism for at least two years which is treated with levothyroxine, or other thyroid hormone replacement

To find out more and register, please visit www.qualtrics.manchester.ac.uk/jfe/ form/SV_08tN5qxWicL2Q6i.

New smart phone app for cancer patients Cancer patients at the Trust now have access to a new smart phone app which will provide free tailored information at their fingertips

public transport to catch, where to go for appointments, videos explaining a patient journey in an easy-to-understand way and patient stories, amongst other things.

MEDICINE AND EMERGENCY CARE

The MySunrise app has been developed to support people from the moment of their diagnosis all the way through their treatment pathway and is expected to support thousands of people under the care of SWB.

“If there are any developments in the service, we will be able to share these, as well as information about our new hospital, the Midland Met, and what they can expect if they are being treated at the new facility when it opens next year.”

Cancer services see 300 new patients a year diagnosed with cancer and this app is accessible to those who wish to use it.

Funding for the development of the app has been secured through the West Midlands Cancer Alliance.

George Brighton, Chief Executive for MySunrise, the makers of the app, said: “We are excited to be launching the MySunrise Cancer Companion App at the Trust. This is a free resource for patients and their families to help support them through their cancer treatment.

Jenny Donovan, Cancer Services Manager, said: “The app has already been a fantastic support for our patients, allowing them to access information they need at the press of a button.

“We hope that it will make a big difference to the journey of a cancer patient,” added Jenny.

“It’s being used at other NHS trusts across the country and the feedback has been excellent.

“Content includes information about the different cancers we treat here, what

“Information will still be accessible through leaflets and the Trust’s website, but this now offers another avenue for patients to access what they need at their own convenience.”

“It’s been designed in partnership with the team Cancer Services team at the Trust and includes a whole range of local information and links to give patients everything they need to help them through this difficult time. We’ve had some great feedback from patients and continue to seek the views of those using it to improve the app for the communities of Sandwell and West Birmingham.”

The creators of the MySunrise app showcased it at the Cancer and Wellbeing event in July

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Cancer Hotline celebrates first anniversary MEDICINE AND EMERGENCY CARE More than 30 per cent of callers accessing the Cancer Hotline in its first year have been referred for further investigative tests.

Patients living in Sandwell and West Birmingham can contact the service, which is marking its first year anniversary this month, if they are suffering from the signs of cancer.

They are then triaged by specialist nurses and referred onto the two week wait cancer pathway if their symptoms indicate the disease. Funded by the West Midlands Cancer Alliance, the service is a partnership between the Trust and the Black Country Integrated Care Board and

The Cancer Hotline team

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is the first of its kind in the country.

The hotline scooped the Clinical Team of the Year award in the Trust’s staff recognition event The Star Awards.

Jenny Donovan, Cancer Services Manager at the Trust, said: “The hotline has achieved exactly what it set out to do – to make sure patients have the tests they need and any treatment required as quickly as possible.

“Many people are unaware of signs of cancer and the team has also been highlighting this through engaging with our population and creating video information.”

demonstrating it’s a much needed service which is making a difference to the health of our population.

“Anyone who is worried can ring the advice line on 0121 507 3330, Monday to Friday, between 8am and 4pm.

“If the triage nurse thinks that the person doesn’t need to see a specialist or have tests, they may recommend the person contacts their GP.”

Symptoms of cancer include unexplained weight loss, unusual swellings or lumps, changes to a mole, blood in wee or poo, changes in bowel habits for more than six The Trust’s Lead Cancer Nurse Jo Harvey, said weeks, a hoarse voice for more than three of the Star Award: “It’s a real honour for the weeks, difficulties in swallowing, unusual team to be acknowledged for their hard work. changes to your breast and vaginal bleeding Figures for the first year show that 32 per after menopause or between periods. cent of people calling in have been referred to the two week wait cancer pathway,

Marking one year of Virtual Wards at SWB PRIMARY CARE, COMMUNITY AND THERAPIES

“The Virtual Ward is freeing up hospital beds, allowing us to admit other patients whilst ensuring we are delivering the right care to those at home.”

It’s been one year since the Frailty Virtual Ward was launched and data reveals admissions for this particular type of patient has significantly dropped compared to last year.

There are six Virtual Wards at the Trust – four of them, Respiratory, Frailty, Cardiology and EPICENTRE, are managed by one large community team, headed up by Anna, with an acute care specialist consultant providing clinical support for each ward.

Figures from September show the hospital bed usage has reduced by 14.6 per cent compared to the same period last year, equating to 18 hospital beds being released for other patients.

Anna McCall, Clinical Lead for Virtual Wards, said: “The data shows that within the first year the Frailty Virtual Ward is having an impact on patient care, not just for the patients admitted to the service, but for others coming to our Trust for treatment.

The Virtual Wards team

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The Paediatric and Palliative Care Virtual Wards are managed by their respective services.

Anna explained: “We started up in October last year with one nurse, a clinical lead and a service manager.

“Within the first week, the Trust was at Level 4 and we were faced immediately with needing to recruit and onboard patients out onto the virtual ward to relieve hospital

pressures, whilst simultaneously developing the governance structure to provide assurance around what we do.

“And so the Respiratory Virtual Ward was born, swiftly followed by the Frailty Virtual Ward. By December, we had four nurses and had opened two virtual wards. I am pleased to say we have grown to a team of 17, taken on the EPICENTRE service and started a Cardiology virtual ward, with a mix of highly skilled and senior ACPs (Advanced Clinical Practitioners), trainee advanced clinical practitioners (ACPs), community matrons, community case managers and senior occupational therapists.

“In essence, the challenges we faced were multiple: designing the service as we went, testing new concepts as we grew, writing clinical pathways, new guidelines, multiple SOPs, and forming a new team, with new roles and with minimal structure

in place. During the last year we have also moved into a newly founded directorate, the Urgent Community Response Services Directorate, which was an additional challenge for the team to work through operationally. The team have continually demonstrated their ability to adapt and flex, rising to each challenge and I am proud to say we are now seeing the fruits of the team’s labour.

“In particular we have received a great deal of support from our Urgent Community Response (UCR) team and the community care homes team, which has led the

concept of a meshed workforce approach geared at patient-centred care and keeping our patients safe at home.

“In order to achieve what we have so far, the growth of the Virtual Wards in readiness for MMUH, has been a collaborative and integrated approach between two of our clinical Groups – PCCT and Medicine & Emergency Care; with both acute and community teams in each virtual ward speciality, working together with ambition to engage, educate and raise the virtual ward profile throughout the Trust, with the aspiration that Virtual Wards are considered

as part of every discharge plan and daily board round conversations on the wards, and not just when the hospital is under greater pressure.

Anna added: “We still have many more challenges to overcome. Our main focus in the coming weeks as we are immersed in winter pressures is to explore new ways to engage with the wards to increase appropriate referrals. If you are not sure if a patient can be support by the Virtual Wards – please phone us and discuss. Referrals are clinician to clinician and verbal over the phone – no referral forms are required.”

CASE STUDY

Former housing warden Pamela Edwards has told how the Virtual Ward team saved her life.

After being diagnosed with heart failure she was admitted to City Hospital where she was cared for over a two-week period.

The 78-year-old, from Edgbaston, was discharged into the Cardiology Virtual Ward team. She said of the experience: “Thank goodness for the Virtual Ward team.

They didn’t come every day but they were available on the phone if I wanted them. I could ask for a certain team member and ask any questions. If I needed help, they would have sent someone out to see me.

“When they came, I was asking questions all the time and they would give me the knowledge they had. But it was so much of a reassurance.

“During a visit, a team member would check my heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen levels, check for fluid retention in my legs and my general wellbeing – what I could and couldn’t do and what I needed support with. After they left, I always felt reassured for the day and got up and did things I thought I couldn’t do. They encouraged me to do what I could.

Virtual Ward team member Zaf Khaliq, who is a trained paramedic, with Pamela Edwards, a cardiology patient “I’m a very anxious person which leads to panic attacks. But since being under the care of the Virtual Ward team, I have managed to keep calm because I know help is there. It’s a wonderful thing, Virtual Wards. I had never heard of it before but

I’m glad and thankful I was put under their care.

“I don’t think I’d be here now if I hadn’t had the team coming in, treating and caring for me. They’ve also shown me incredible kindness too, I can’t thank them enough.

What is a Virtual Ward?

Frailty Virtual Ward inclusion criteria:

The team provides safe care at home for carefully selected patients.

• Aged 65 or over.

It means:

• Requirement for treatments/observations that would otherwise keep the patient in hospital e.g. blood test review for stage 1 AKI, hyponatraemia, medication review/ polypharmacy, rehabilitation, delirium, anxiety regarding returning home

• Earlier discharge • The patient is treated and monitored intensively in their preferred place of care • Patient remains under the care of a specialist consultant whilst on the Virtual Ward, receiving daily board rounds To refer to the Virtual Wards team, call extension 2664 (pick option 1, then option 4).

• Any acute medical condition that shows evidence of an improving trajectory and likely to resolve within 1-2 weeks.

• Examples include infections such as UTI, falls +/- fragility fracture, delirium, constipation • Completion of intravenous antibiotics at home/enhanced safety-netting whilst following early step down to oral antibiotic therapy

*The patient does not have to be medically fit for discharge but should be on an expected or improving medical trajectory and safe at home.

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Star Awards: Our Winners Over the next several months, we will celebrate winners of the 2023 Star Awards, recognising them for their hard work and the positive impact this has had on our people, patients and population. We’ll be speaking directly with

the winners to get their views and hear what winning meant to them.

Rising Star Award

“I don’t think of myself as above anyone and dictating from the office: if we’re short staffed, I am out on the floor with my team. I enjoy the fact that I get to work in management but my role is still patient facing. I wouldn’t want to lose that aspect.”

2023’s Rising Star is Emma Bessant, Senior Sister on D30, the elderly care ward at City Hospital. The Rising Star Award recognises someone who has held some leadership or management responsibility for at least a year and who has demonstrated outstanding ability, talent, communications skills and leadership, showing great promise for the future.

Emma has been at the Trust for over 10 years, starting her journey in the acute medical unit (AMU) in 2012. She joined as a band 2, first completing an access to work course and then progressing through training until she eventually became a band 6. Last year, when the band 7 role on D30 was advertised, she went for the job and was successful, taking over leadership of the ward. She said; “I have done lots of training over the years and progressed through the bands. My manager when I started, Claire Obiakor, has really supported me with this over the years.

“I always say, ‘I’ll stop after I’ve done this’, but I seem to keep going!”

Emma is keeping up momentum, with an upcoming move over to short-stay ward D28. When asked about the work that she felt had led to her being crowned the Rising Star, she told us: “I think it was my team at D30 that nominated me, and I think my win was due to leadership above all else.

“This was in some ways a struggling area, with a high incident rate for patient responses – the team needed to be brought together.”

Emma took on the task with aplomb, despite being nervous about managing people: “Before I started, the thought of management was daunting, but it’s really enjoyable. I got to know the staff extremely well, I knew more about them than my own family!

“To me, being a good leader is about the way you treat your staff. It’s a fine line between having a professional relationship but also being supportive and understanding that people have their own issues at home.

For the first Our Winners, we spoke with the winners of the Rising Star Award and the Distinguished Service Award.

The win itself meant a great deal to Emma, who stated: “It was really overwhelming on the night – I enjoyed myself after the awards were done! It’s just really nice to be recognised for what I have done.

“The ‘little people’ like us, that start on band 2, deserve a lot of recognition. I am really happy to have received that from my colleagues.”

In the future, Emma hopes to continue working at SWB, leading her own area.

“I can’t imagine leaving the Trust and going elsewhere – this is where I started my career in the NHS and I feel at home here. When I first left AMU I was so nervous about being in a different area, so moving around a lot has made me much more confident.

“My leadership roles have all been secondments, so three, six, nine months – in the future, I’d like to permanently lead my own area and put my stamp on it. I want to cultivate an environment where people are happy to come to work and proud of their area.”

Distinguished Service Award The winner of 2023’s Distinguished Service Award is Verna White, a midwife at City Hospital. Verna began her journey in healthcare in the 1970s, starting as a nurse auxiliary before commencing with her registered nurse training in 1979 at Leicester. She qualified in 1982, and two years later she began working at SWB to carry out her midwifery training. She has been here ever since and has never had a day off sick: “People say to me – maybe I am not human, and my blood is not red!”

Verna explained why she was drawn to being a midwife: “When I qualified, one of the tutors told me “I can see you in greens” (scrubs) and I thought – I think midwives wear greens!

I worked on a gynae ward for 18 months and decided I wanted to be a midwife.

“During my interview at City, I was looking at the floor for most of it as I didn’t know a lot of what the interviewer was asking me. She encouraged me to take stock and I started thinking of what I did know from my training and answering the questions.

“She must have seen something in me that I didn’t see in myself at the time, because I got the job and qualified as a midwife in November 1985.”

At this time, Verna worked in maternity at Sandwell General Hospital, and has worked a number of different roles within the Trust. She stated: “When I was at Sandwell, I worked as a community midwife, which I enjoyed, then moving on to ward mat 1. I was asked to apply for the post of team leader there: I didn’t want to necessarily do anything managerial, I liked looking after the women and their newborns, but I had nothing to lose so I applied and got the job. I did the role for four or so years, looking after my team – I think part of being a manager is making sure you look after your team well.”

When a new head of midwifery came into the role and saw Verna’s work on mat 1, she was asked to move to the antenatal clinic at City. Verna stated: “Clinic wasn’t necessarily my niche, but I went over and got to know the team over there. I stayed in the role for four months, before going back to mat 1 at Sandwell.”

In 2011, the maternity ward at Sandwell closed down, with the existing team merging with the maternity ward at City Hospital.

Due to her time at the antenatal clinic, Verna already knew a lot of the team. She interviewed to take over the managerial role at City, but wasn’t successful – however, she feels this worked out for the best.

“Instead, I worked as a band 7 on the labour ward. Everything happens for a reason: I think that was the best thing for me.

The band 7 role includes coordinating and being in charge of the ward, finding midwives for the women coming in. You need to oversee the whole operation and ensure the midwives on the other wards are okay too.

“The role really suits my personality and the way I am: I like to work with women, be with women and see the joyous outcome at the end of their experience of giving birth. My colleagues say, ‘You love this don’t you?’, and I say, ‘Yes I do!’

I think it’s the emergencies where I thrive. For me it’s about maintaining calm and making sure you aren’t stressed, because when you’re stressed, your team is stressed.”

2023 has been a fantastic year for Verna. She retired in March 2023, coming back to work two days a week as a band 7, with bank shifts if necessary, as the management team were keen to retain her expertise after so many years as a midwife.

So, after her retirement event at the maternity ward, she decided to throw a party: “I didn’t want lunch or dinner, I wanted a party! I organised this for the team in maternity, throwing it at Aston Villa in April.

“At the event, the team presented me with a plaque and explained that at the new Midland Met University Hospital, room 8A will be called the White Room after my surname, with a plaque commemorating my service in the NHS.” Verna wasn’t anticipating her Star Awards win: “I’m not the best with my phone. I was at work one day and one of the doctors said to me, ‘Congratulations on your nomination’, and I thought, ‘What nomination?!’

“When I got home, I started looking and saw I’d been shortlisted for the Distinguished Service Award. I couldn’t believe it.”

Verna was tentative about some of the activities associated with the award, but Anil Patel, Internal Communications and Engagement Manager at SWB, encouraged her to celebrate her achievement. Verna says she didn’t know the gravity of the award until she showed up on the night itself: “It was Friday 13, I was on table 13, and there were 13 awards; unlucky for some, so I thought, let’s see what happens! I was so nervous, and when I heard my name being called out, I thought oh my goodness! I walked up as steadily as I could and collected my award.

“I can’t believe how wonderful this year has been. I’ve been away on holiday a couple of times, I’ve won awards for my work – it’s been amazing. I’ve never been celebrated like this before.”

Verna’s advice to the next generation is simple: “Do the best you can, utilise the people around you to ask questions, get your head down and learn.”

Organ donation saves four lives in 48 hours at SWB Every day, the lives of many people are saved or improved thanks to the generous acts of organ donors.

Even in the toughest times of their lives, some people look beyond themselves and give the most precious gift anyone can give – the gift of life.

Alison Morris, Specialist Nurse Organ Donation, remarked: “As part of the organ donation team at SWB, alongside Kerry Mills, Specialist Nurse Organ Donation and Kieran Donnelly, Clinical Lead for Organ Donation, we always like to send letters to individuals that we know were directly involved in the donation journey and send a letter to the respective departments – in this case, critical care and theatres – to say thank you to everyone who helped make this happen.

Earlier this year, our teams worked closely with their patients and their families to save four lives through the selfless act of organ donation. By choosing to donate their organs, these courageous individuals were able to help to turn tragedy into triumph for some people who had been waiting on the organ transplant waiting list.

“It is an amazing gift to save the life of another and one that would not happen without our amazing donors, their brave families, and the amazing work of the staff in critical care and theatres. Only one per cent of people are able to donate their organs as they have to be ventilated in critical care, so this truly is a special and unique gift to give.

In 48 hours, four organs were retrieved and effectively transplanted, bringing hope to those in need. Colleagues at SWB were acknowledged for their dedicated efforts in making this happen by the Midlands organ donation team.

“What made this case unique and indeed challenging was that we had three consented donors in the space of 48 hours which has not happened before. This is unheard of in any hospital, let alone a

SURGICAL SERVICES

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smaller one like Sandwell Hospital – a total of four lives were saved which is incredible.”

Kelly Papavarnava, Deputy Group Director of Nursing for Surgical Services, explained: “The teams worked tirelessly over 48 hours to support these successful organ donations. As you can imagine, it’s a difficult time for families, and I’m proud of how our teams sensitively handled each case.

“Thanks to the organ donations, patients received a heart transplant, a liver transplant and two kidney transplants. I want to sincerely thank all our multidisciplinary colleagues for working with the donor families and recipients at a challenging time to achieve these positive outcomes.

There are too many people to mention individually, but we acknowledge your hard work, dedication and professionalism and thank you for helping to make such a significant difference.”

To find out more about organ donation visit https://www.nhsbt.nhs.uk.

Critical care rehabilitation key to recovery Critical care rehabilitation is a process that starts at the time of admission.

Identifying rehabilitation needs and predicting risk of both physical and non-physical morbidity is vital to its success.

When patients face life-threatening conditions and intensive care, they often lose physical strength and independence.

Critical care rehabilitation steps in to help them recover and regain their footing, both physically and psychologically. ICU Steps is a patient support charity for patients and relatives that experience critical illness. In July they encouraged units across the nation to participate and celebrate the work that multi-disciplinary teams do every day to help these patients rehabilitate and recover from their critical illness, by posting photos and videos on social media.

Understanding what matters to patients and identifying important information about them as people, enables the development of individualised rehabilitation programmes for all patients who require them. This includes early mobilisation, visiting outdoor spaces, family involvement, use of patient diaries, music therapy, pet therapy, reminiscence therapy and reorientation to name a few important interventions. A collaborative coordinated approach is required to provide seamless, high quality patient care. All members of the multidisciplinary (MDT) team have an important part to play.

Nicki Heys and her critical care team displayed posters on the critical care units at both Sandwell and City Hospital for a fortnight to allow viewing by the wider MDT and to allow promotion of all the components of critical care rehabilitation. This was accompanied by practical sessions for use of various available pieces of equipment.

SURGICAL SERVICES She said: “Around 200,000 people are admitted to critical care in the UK every year and whilst rehabilitation is not new to critical care, we were keen to kick start and refresh our approach to ensure the whole team has the tools to deliver the best possible care to all our patients”.

Rehabilitation is important and approaches need to be adopted by all members of MDT team 24/7. Nicki expresses how a holistic approach is key, and understanding of all factors is crucial to providing seamless high-quality care to critically ill patients.

The Critical Care team with a therapy dog

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Tracheostomy care remains in focus

released on Centric Cortex.

•

Production of a care plan - currently being built for Unity.

For just over a year now, a multidisciplinary team have been involved in a Quality Improvement project on tracheostomy care across the Trust.

The project aim is to ensure safe and high-quality care is provided to patients with tracheostomies.

•

Agreed cohort wards for patients with both tracheostomies and laryngectomies to ensure they are cared for by skilled and knowledgeable staff.

Cohort wards being the AMUs crosssite, Priory 2, Lyndon 2, Priory 4, Newton 4, Priory 5, D15 and D17.

Many positive changes have already been made including:

As part of the project, the staff representing the cohort wards were tasked with developing an education display board to promote the project aim of championing safe and highquality care for our altered airway patients particularly tracheostomy care.

SURGICAL SERVICES

• The introduction of emergency tracheostomy boxes (available from Critical Care Outreach on Bleeps 6000 at City and 6234 at Sandwell) and bedhead signage.

•

Train the trainer study day was run with an e-module just

Four wards entered the competition: AMU, Lyndon 2, Priory 2 and Priory 5.

Nicki Heys, Advanced Clinical Practitioner in Critical Care Rehabilitation, who is leading

Sandy Kaur Kaler, representing Lyndon 2, picks up first prize for the display competition

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the project, said: “All entries demonstrated fantastic effort and dedication to the task and overall goal.

“The winner was the entry by Lyndon 2, led

by Lauren Baker, a Practice Development Nurse. The display covered essential emergency care and key Trust specific information and was the most visually appealing of the entrants - so well done Lauren and Lyndon 2.

“A close runner up was AMU which contained key differentiation between tracheostomy and laryngectomy patients particularly around emergency care - thank you to Chris Ronayne and Miranda Tolley and team.

“The other entries were also very impressive, and we thank all participating teams for their effort and enthusiasm. The displays are available to view on the respective wards.”

Toys are back in town!

Young patients in our children’s wards were excited and delighted when Toy Story characters Woody and Jessie paid them a visit during Play in Hospital week.

The play therapy team planned a range of activities for youngsters to highlight the importance of the awareness campaign, including a dancing session with registered Dance Movement Psychotherapist Natalie as well as indulging in some arts and crafts.

Jo Maher, Play Worker, was supported by her colleagues Lisa Hemingsley and Beena Palmer as they worked to ensure this year’s theme - innovation and creativity in play was at the forefront of the activities.

Jo said: “Play in Hospital week is a really important week for the children: we like to ensure that they feel at home whilst

in hospital and having weeks like this to celebrate the importance of play is essential.”

They started off the week with a delicious cake and fruit sale, where staff brought in cakes and a selection of fruit to raise money for the event. And during their dance session with Natalie, they learned a few simple steps to the latest pop hits.

The highlight of the week for the children was a visit from Woody and Jessie, kindly arranged by the team at AH Parties.

Jo added: “The day ended with an epic dance off for the children where Woody and Jessie busted a few moves with colleagues, which brought beaming smiles to the children’s faces.

“Other highlights included a visit from Meg from ‘Over the Wall’ charity, who carried out fun and exciting activities with the children

WOMENS AND CHILD HEALTH and their families. To end the week, the Pets as Therapy team visited the ward where the children were able to interact with the dogs and learn about what the team do within the hospital to support patients.”

Cheryl Newton, Group Director of Nursing for Womens and Child Health added: “Seeing the smiles on the children’s faces is priceless. I would like to thank Lisa, Jo and Beena, our play therapists, who do an amazing job all year round to ensure the children being cared for have the right play facilities available whilst in our care.”

Toy Story characters visited our children’s wards to celebrate Play Week

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Skin tone prostheses donated to Breast Unit WOMENS AND CHILD HEALTH A multi-award winning breast cancer charity has donated its first batch of different skin coloured soft prostheses for women who have undergone a mastectomy at City Hospital.

Around 80 “Softies” were given to the Breast Unit at City Hospital by Ladies Fighting Breast Cancer.

It means women from Black, Asian and other minority backgrounds will be able to pick matching skin tone colours, available in four different shades, when being fitted with the prosthesis which they wear in their bra.

After six to eight weeks, once women have recovered from surgery, they are fitted with a permanent silicon

prosthesis, available in a range of colours at the hospital.

Helen Taylor, breast care nurse at City Hospital, said: “It’s fantastic that we are now able to offer women Softies in a range of colours. Previously these were unavailable to us, as they were only available in beige. Even though the Softies are only temporary, it will enhance the patient experience and make a difference to how women feel after surgery.

“Having a mastectomy can have a psychological and emotional impact on your life. It can be from how you wear your clothes, to going out and about. We want women to feel good and well about themselves and gain back their confidence.

“We are very grateful to Ladies Fighting Breast Cancer for their donation of these prosthetics.”

a soft prosthesis that matches their skin tone as we want to give women their confidence back after going through a cancer diagnosis and then a mastectomy.

“Having the option of a Softie to match their skin tone is an important step in their journey to feel well again.”

Some women use a Softie temporarily before reconstructive surgery, while others wear one before using a permanent silicon prosthesis.

Veronica added: “The staff at City Hospital’s Breast Unit work incredibly hard to deliver compassionate care to women going through cancer so it was only right that our first batch of Softies was donated to the hospital in memory of my friend Tanya.

“We are working with the company Sew With Holly to create this more affordable Veronica Kumeta, co-founder of the charity, product and we hope that going forward added: “It’s important that women are offered we can supply them to other NHS trusts in the area.”

The Breast Unit nurses take delivery of the skin tone coloured prostheses from the charity Ladies Fighting Breast Cancer

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Lead Nurse for Development and Learning guides school nursing Since joining in 2020, Hannah Cook has been a driving force in elevating the standards of education and training within the Sandwell School Nursing Team.

WOMENS AND CHILD HEALTH Positive feedback has been a constant, both from SCPHN students and the clinical lead, who highlighted the role's positive impact on the service. Hannah actively seeks feedback from students to continually enhance the service.

When asked about the decision to take on the new role, Hannah explained: "I've always enjoyed progressing within school nursing and providing support to others.

“This role seemed like a natural next step in my career, allowing me to support the staff with their training, development, and career progression."

The establishment of this role stemmed from a comprehensive review prompted by changes in the Nursing and Midwifery Council's (NMC) assessor and supervisor roles. Recognising the need for a focused approach to training and development for Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (SCPHN) students and service staff, Sandwell School Nursing introduced this pivotal position.

Hannah outlined her primary responsibilities: "My main role is to assess SCPHN students, providing learning opportunities, supporting them in practice, and ensuring they are competent to practice as specialist practitioners in school nursing.

Hannah Cook One of the highlights of Hannah's role is witnessing SCPHN students achieve their goals and qualify as specialist practitioners.

She added: "It's very rewarding to see them proud of themselves after an intense and busy year of learning." Hannah also expressed satisfaction in contributing to the growth of staff knowledge and updating her own skills through the management of a caseload.

However, the journey has not been without its challenges. Introducing new processes to support the service, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, posed initial difficulties.

Nonetheless, the School Nursing team’s “Additionally, I oversee staff training, adaptability allowed for reflection and organise training opportunities, and manage improvements, ensuring effective changes student placements within our service." were made.

Since assuming the position in December 2020, Hannah has successfully guided 10 SCPHN students to become qualified specialist practitioners. Currently overseeing six SCPHN students on placement, with two more set to begin in February 2024, she reflects on the positive outcomes, stating: "The processes and guidance I've implemented have provided structure and support to students in practice.

“Moreover, I've established robust procedures for various aspects of practice within the service."

Hannah is not just shaping the future of school nursing at the Trust - she is also setting a standard for educational and professional development within the field. As the Lead Nurse for Development and Learning, Hannah is proving to be a vital asset in ensuring the ongoing success and growth of Sandwell School Nursing.

Your Right to be Heard

Do you have something you’d like to say, or a question you’d like answered? Tell us! We will look to get a response to your issue or query from a relevant colleague for publication in Heartbeat.

Visit www.surveymonkey.com/r/yourrighttobeheard, scan the QR code, or write an email of no more than 200 words and send it to swbh.comms@nhs.net. Please note all submissions via the Survey Monkey form will be anonymous.

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Sarah Concannon Promoting Independence Lead Therapist SWB’s newly appointed Promoting Independence Lead Therapist is Sarah Concannon. Starting in October 2023, she has taken on this new role as part of the Trust’s commitment to fundamentals of care.

Sarah started her career in healthcare 22 years ago, when she began working as a healthcare assistant in care homes, hospitals and in the community. In 2005, she trained to be an occupational therapist, and since qualifying has worked across a number of areas. Her broad range of experience includes working in mental health, acute hospital wards, and a promoting independence team in the community.

Immediately prior to her current role at SWB, she worked in primary care as the clinical lead of a wellbeing team.

Sarah has enjoyed her start at SWB, stating she has had a friendly and welcoming introduction to the Trust. In terms of her goals in the role, she hopes to incorporate promoting independence where possible, as well as to reduce hospital acquired deconditioning.

This would have many benefits to patients: reduced length of stay, reduced dependency

on discharge, reduced risk of pressure sores and reduced risk of muscle weakness, to name just a few.

She will also look to incorporate audits, hopefully enabling the team to see improvement in patient care and to highlight areas which may require further attention.

Sarah’s role is focused on leading a new patient initiative in promoting independence.

A key focus of our fundamentals of care approach, promoting independence recognises that retaining independence and autonomy is of great benefit to an individual who requires health or social care. With evidence demonstrating that healthcare interventions can result in patients can become dependent on care, as opposed to recovering and retaining some independence, many organisations are making promoting independence a priority.

To this end, Sarah will initially be working on one ward at a time, focusing on key areas where we can promote a patient’s independence. She will also work on the proactive management of falls via an enablement model to improve patient safety, as well as helping to reduce hospital acquired deconditioning.

Sarah Concannon

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.

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Jenny Riley Director of Advanced Clinical Practice This month we’re thrilled to introduce you to Jennifer Riley, our dynamic and dedicated new Director of Advanced Clinical Practice. Jennifer is not just a seasoned healthcare professional with 29 years of nursing experience; she's a visionary leader ready to shape the future of advanced clinical practice within our Trust.

Having spent her early years in Derby, Jennifer's journey began in surgery, eventually leading her to acute medicine, a brief stint in intensive care, and finally to an acute medical unit.

It was during her time as an out-of-hours practitioner that Jennifer discovered her passion for clinical practice, a passion she has now nurtured for an impressive 13 years in advanced roles.

In her new role, Jennifer is taking on the challenge of providing governance and oversight to clinical practitioners operating at advanced levels, and she's also stepping up as the Trust's non-medical prescribing lead.

With a wealth of experience, Jennifer is eager to support workforce transformation looking at how new roles can provide the best care for our patients, guide colleagues into new advanced roles, offer support for education, and pave the way for those wanting to progress into advanced practitioner positions.

Jennifer is not just about fulfilling her role; she's on a mission to ensure that courses and modules for advanced clinical practitioners (ACPs) are not just comprehensive but also tailored to their needs. As a nurse with nearly three decades of experience, she understands the importance of staying relevant in a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape.

"I have lots to get right to build a stable foundation, and I want to make sure I develop the ACPs to be confident, capable, and able

to flourish," said Jennifer, emphasising her commitment to our ACPs. Currently, we have over 130 ACPs working across Sandwell and West Birmingham, to date they have been developed in silos by their respective clinical groups with some brilliant work, but this has led to ACPs feeling disconnected from a broader team. Jennifer is here to change that by fostering a sense of unity and representation among our ACPs. Outside of her demanding role, Jennifer finds balance in her life through running, pilates, caring for her four-year-old grandson, and taking on the exciting challenge of renovating her house.

Let's extend a warm welcome to Jennifer as she takes on the exciting challenge of nurturing and developing advanced clinical practice and creating a supportive, unified environment for colleagues.

Jenny Riley

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Wave goodbye to…

Shabir Rajpur

Shabir Rajpar will be retiring years with the Trust.

for external auditors and attaining his MSc in Pathological Sciences at Sheffield University.

However, there is one specific challenge which stands out for him.

After well over three and half decades with SWB, Shabir Rajpar will be retiring from SWB.

“The biggest thing which stands out for me has to be around 10 years ago, when the department moved from City to Sandwell.

There were so many little logistical things which came up and there were a few teething issues; however, once we settled, it definitely benefited the service long term.”

It was March 1987, Ferry Aid were number one in the UK music charts with Let It Be, Everton and Liverpool were battling it out for English First Division title and Shabir Rajpar was getting ready for his first day at the Trust.

“I remember my first say so vividly, it was Monday 30 March 1987,” said Shabir.

“Back then it was called the Dudley Road Hospital and my first role was actually that of a state registered medical laboratory scientific officer.

“I had an array of duties in my role including the routine investigation of samples that were received in the immunology department.”

When Shabir first started, the laboratory was part of microbiology and there were only two full time members of staff in department including himself. However, a few years later the lab became independent due to demand on the service and moved to larger premises in the main pathology building at the newly named City Hospital. The department started to grow in terms of staff and the repertoire of tests that were performed.

In 1993 Shabir attained the post of a senior biomedical scientist and his duties included the establishment of several in-house Enzyme

Shabir Rajpar

Linked Immunosorbent Assay tests, training new members of staff and taking on the duty of health and safety officer.

“More recently my role has been to ensure the smooth running of the department. This includes conducting PDR’s, taking charge of the electronic staff records and making sure that the work was performed accurately and efficiently.”

Shabir has faced many challenges whilst at SWB, including deputising for his manager in 2009 to cover maternity leave, preparing

Shabir Rajpar celebrates his retirement with colleagues

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He added: “In addition to this, there have been a number of major developments in the history of the department including the automation of the immunology tests. This would not have been possible without the hard work and the commitment shown by all members of the team. It has been a great pleasure to work in such a friendly and dedicated team. The staff have been like a family to me from the immunology consultants to all my colleagues within the laboratory.”

When asked what career advice Shabir would give to his younger self he said: “I would tell myself to try my best to acquire relevant work experience as early as possible within the career of my choice and attain further qualifications in order to progress within the field.”

As part of his retirement, Shabir is planning on spending more time with his family and friends, travelling and hitting the gym on regular basis.

Happy retirement Shabir!

Richard talks about: Staff Survey and Urgent and Emergency Care Richard Beeken, Chief Executive

RICHARD'S LAST WORD If you are a regular reader of my weekly Friday message, you can probably guess the two things that I want to focus my Heartbeat column on this month…

Staff Survey and Urgent and Emergency Care.

I think one of my most often asked questions to colleagues across the organisation is, ‘why is it, when I feel (and I am often told!) that this is the friendliest Trust I’ve ever worked in, do we struggle to get a decent response rate on our staff survey?’

This year’s survey closed at the end of November, and our response rate was 29.4 per cent: that’s only 2,298 people across our whole organisation who have completed it and is our lowest response rate for a number of years.

I have heard it said that colleagues feel we don’t really do anything with the results, and they don’t feel any change as a result of filling in the survey, and therefore they choose not to complete it – let’s change this.

Your feedback does lead to change. We have now launched our leadership programme, which was developed as a direct result of your feedback in the staff survey, where the results showed that we needed to better equip and develop our leaders.

I am also delighted to see that water machines have now been installed across the Trust - this again came as a direct result of what you said in the staff survey, as did the development and revamp of our staff rest areas - you may have seen the video with Deputy Chair, Lesley Writtle talking to the physiotherapy team about the difference this has made to them.

I am conscious that you may not realise where these improvements have come from, so in Heartbeat next month (and indeed across our other communications channels) we will be discussing a new approach to staff survey – particularly around how we use the results and how we make them meaningful to you.

The survey is based around the NHS People Promise, so we will develop our own SWB Promise to you – that we will ACT (Action, Changes, Things) on your feedback and develop tangible actions as a result of what you say - and regularly keep you up to date with how we are progressing - more of that next month.

Onto Urgent and Emergency Care.

In my role as chief executive, I am accountable for everything this Trust does – I might not have direct responsibility for a great deal – but I am accountable to the Trust Board for everything, patient safety, staff satisfaction, delivery against access standards and financial expectations.

•

37 per cent of our ambulances aren’t currently offloaded within 30 minutes – this means that the ambulance crew have to wait outside, with their patient, until we have space in the emergency department. Not only does this hinder that crew and the patient, it creates longer waiting times for people who need an ambulance.

•

70 per cent of patients still haven’t seen a doctor after an hour of being in our emergency department – this means we still don’t know what the plan will be for their care.

• The average time that someone waits on our ED is 376 minutes – that’s over six hours – or the equivalent of watching just over four football matches! It’s an incredibly long time to be spent in an area that is just not set-up for people to spend lots of time.

•

56 per cent of our discharges take place after 5pm – this is especially important at this time of the year – I don’t like leaving work when it is cold and dark, but imagine leaving hospital after a few days or weeks, in these conditions – and getting back to a house that’s dark and cold – not the best way to start your recovery journey.

We must and we will do better. When we were in our critical incident, I saw the best of our organisation, everyone working together for the greater good of our patients, but that must become the norm. The actions that we carried out to positively impact patient flow during those few days need to become our business as usual.

We have developed our Winter Ambition, which is to make things better for you and our patients. This has started with action weeks, one at City Hospital and one at Sandwell Hospital, where we have embedded members of our improvement team into our medicine and emergency care teams to look at what works well and what we could do differently.

Is it better use of our discharge lounges? Do we need to have a different approach to ordering medication that patients need to take home with them? Lots more will come out of these two weeks, and then, more importantly, it is then how we take this forward and embedded it into our everyday practice.

Alongside this, we have implemented significant investment to improve patient safety and experience at our front door. This was approved by the Trust Board at our October meeting and includes: •

More senior medical decision makers in ED and acute medicine/ SDEC for longer in the day

•

Transfer team investment to move patients who need admission, to their inpatient bed, more quickly

Now, this accountability comes naturally with the role, but I feel it very keenly when aspects of the Trust are not performing as they should, especially so when it’s affecting patient safety and experience and the morale of you, my colleagues.

•

You will be aware that earlier this month we declared a critical incident.

That was because of a period of sustained pressure on our urgent and emergency care.

Everyone across this organisation has a level of responsibility for the care of our patients, and by working together we can, and I know we will improve.

Let me explain a few measures that we track our performance on, to help bring the current situation to life a little bit more for you.

Thank you for your support.

•

Extending our UTC hours well into the night Improved food and drink provision for patients awaiting admission in our two EDs

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SCORE Programme: Bridging the Gap to Healthcare Careers YOUR TRUST CHARITY

@SWBHCharity To donate to the Your Trust Charity text “SWBH16 £5” to 70070 Edward and Sahfa from YTC discuss SCORE with Hasna and Shannon The Supporting Career Opportunities Recruitment Employment (SCORE) program, a flagship employability initiative by Your Trust Charity, has emerged as a vital pathway for young individuals aged 16-30 seeking career opportunities within the NHS or the broader Health & Social Care supply chain. As one of the six national pilots, SCORE is funded by The Princes Trust, Health Education England, and the Trust Charity, and it has garnered significant success over the past 18 months.

Delivered by SWB's Volunteer Services and supported by the Nursing Education Team and various clinical teams at City and Sandwell, SCORE focuses on providing practical work experience and career development opportunities. The program targets candidates who have achieved their Level 2-3 Health & Social Care certification and have successfully secured a placement within the NHS. Over the past year and a half, SCORE has facilitated unique work experience placements, with 22 young individuals

transitioning into employment at the Trust. Many have secured roles as Health Care Assistants, while others have taken on positions as project support staff.

Edward Edmead and Sahfa Shafaqat from YTC recently sat down with SCORE beneficiaries Hasna Shabir and Shannon Masih to discuss their personal experiences and the program's impact on their professional development.

Hasna shared: "SCORE gave me the opportunity to work with clinical staff, nursing teams, and patients, helping me develop new skills." Similarly, Shannon, after completing a degree, found that SCORE provided specific experiences and confidence, making her well-prepared for administrative roles within the Trust Bank.

Both Hasna and Shannon emphasised the importance of real-life experiences gained during their placements. Regular communication and feeling part of the team were identified as crucial aspects of their preparation for the workforce.

Hasna highlighted the challenge of adapting to shift work, which required a change in routine and mindset. Both participants stressed the importance

of communication and teamwork in overcoming challenges.

The mandatory training, particularly in 'moving and handling,' received praise for preparing participants for their roles.

Additionally, the ESR modules provided insights into the hospital, NHS, and wider working environment. Both beneficiaries expressed that the program exceeded their expectations, citing the genuine support received from Volunteers Services, Charity, and Nursing Education Teams.

Hasna and Shannon both had advice for future participants, encouraging them to be prepared, motivated, and willing to put in effort. They also stressed the importance of active participation, learning, and building connections with colleagues.

The SCORE Employability Programme stands as a beacon of success in bridging the gap between education and employment for young professionals in the healthcare sector. The testimonials from Hasna and Shannon reflect the positive impact of the program, demonstrating that it remains a valuable resource for aspiring healthcare professionals.

November 2023 staff lottery results 1st £147.75

2nd £88.65

3rd £59.10

Andrew Churm

Alise Mainwaring

Jay Sian

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.