Issuu

September 2021

Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust

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

Issue 145

Raising awareness of sepsis

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During September across the Trust we have been working hard to highlight the impact that sepsis can have on patients.

Boost your immunity this winter

An hour a week for your wellbeing

Antibiotic resistance – a silent pandemic

Cancer Centre reopens on 20th anniversary

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FROM THE CHAIR HELLO Welcome to your September edition of Heartbeat. This month we cover the importance of sepsis awareness, the launch of SurgiNet and the results of the quarterly Pulse survey. But that’s not all; we share details on how you can boost your immunity this winter with the flu jab and COVID booster, we share ideas on how to spend your weekly wellbeing hour and guidance on how to package your LAMP test. Dr Tranprit Saluja, Consultant also tells us about antibiotic resistance. Enjoy 

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

Published by Communications Team Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust

Sir David talks about…his commitment to doing all he can to support you I had the opportunity to attend the Trust Leaders’ Conference this month and talk to our leaders about my role as Chair and how I see the organisation’s needs going forwards. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing people meet together after such a long time of peering at people on a small screen in front of me. I know that most of the attendees felt the same. At the conference I shared with the delegates my personal commitment to both the population that we serve and to the people who work here and with us. I am committed to doing all I can to support you and be the best Chair that I can be. I would encourage you all to think about and put into action the things that will help you to be the best that you can be, whatever your role within the organisation. I was delighted to be given the opportunity to be Chairman here. For me, it is seeing a thought that a few of us had years ago come to fruition with the development and opening of the new Midland Metropolitan University Hospital and the associated benefits this will bring to our patients, population and people. Before taking on the role I had heard that there were concerns about the Trust and questions over its ability to improve on CQC ratings, deliver MMUH and develop an open and transparent culture. When I arrived I started to get to know the organisation and I recognise the familiarity and friendliness that

colleagues have, which was exemplified by the extraordinarily positive welcome I have received. I have met truly dedicated clinicians with a passion for their communities and for providing the best treatment possible. I have spoken to people who work in homes and clinics right across our patch whose commitment to working together to tackle inequality and improve health outcomes shines through. But we still see feedback through measures like our national staff survey responses, the quarterly Pulse survey and speak up concerns that show there is more to do to help people feel happy at work with the ability to provide high quality care and be proud of our organisation. Opening a new hospital is a once in a lifetime opportunity for those working in the NHS. It is not, of course, the only thing we will do, and we will always be #morethanahospital, but MMUH provides us with a unique opportunity to raise our profile, boost our credibility as a leader of high quality care education, research and integrated care. MMUH can help us attract more first class clinicians and support us in building teams who can provide joined up care for a population who deserve the best. I hope you will join me in my personal quest to be the best that I can be in my role at the Trust, so that together we can continue to create and enhance a thriving organisation.

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

 Ext 5303  swbh.comms@nhs.net Stay updated We send out a Communications Bulletin via email every day and you can now read Heartbeat articles throughout the month on Connect. Don't forget you can follow us on: Sir David Nicholson KCB CBE, Chair

Saving lives with a simple question - Could it be sepsis? A simple question could be the difference between life and death, between an agonising infection or a swift recovery – Could it be sepsis? Sepsis is the body’s overwhelming response to infection, which can lead to tissue damage, organ failure, amputations, and death. During September across the Trust we have been working hard to highlight the impact that sepsis can have on patients, how worryingly common it can be and astonishingly how it’s perceived by many to be a rare condition. The truth is sepsis is incredibly common. Every year in the UK 250,000 people are affected by sepsis; 52,000 people die because of sepsis. Many surviving patients suffer from the consequences of sepsis for the rest of their lives. Sepsis is one of the common causes of death at our Trust. The key to improving outcomes is early recognition and prompt treatment of patients with suspected or confirmed infection. Throughout September we have focussed our attention on ensuring that colleagues

understand the impact of sepsis screening and treatment and culminating in a Sepsis Ward Board challenge. Ward teams across the Trust have been hard at work developing their eye catching and informative boards, highlighting their focus on the tasks at hand to screen and treat patients for sepsis in their specialty areas. With McCarthy Ward being crowned the winners for their efforts in developing a board that is eye catching, easy to understand and highlights the sepsis 6 screening protocol and treatment plans perfectly. Coming in a close second were runners up the Medical Infusion Suite and Newton 5 for their efforts in highlighting the importance of being sepsis aware. Specialties also had the opportunity to go head to head in the first inaugural sepsis quiz which saw contestants from across the Trust battle it out to be crowned the champion. What started as a friendly match focussed on building understanding and awareness raising found itself becoming the battleground for clinical knowledge as teams from medicine and emergency care and surgical services fought through to the final – with surgical services leaving victorious.

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS Test your sepsis knowledge by completing our sepsis quiz: https://www.surveymonkey. co.uk/r/SEPSISsept Colleagues who are unsure of the sepsis screening processes are encouraged to speak to their ward matrons or contact the deteriorating patients and resus team on ext. 5908. Learn more about sepsis • https://sepsistrust.org/ • NICE Guidelines: Sepsis: recognition, diagnosis and early management: https:// www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ ng5

McCarthy Ward’s winning entry to the Sepsis Ward Board Challenge

HOW TO SAFELY PACKAGE YOUR WEEKLY SALIVA TEST (LAMP TEST) 1. The kit should include 1 sample COVID-19

tube, 1 funnel, 2 specimen bags and 1 test sheet with labels.

After taking your saliva sample, place one of the sticky labels from the form on to your bottle. Take care to ensure the barcode is vertical on the tube.

Call 0121 507 2664 and press

Place the tube into the smaller bag and seal it.

Fold the letter into quarters, making sure the side with your name/NHS no. is clearly displayed. Slot it into the other sleeve in the large bag and fold over the flap.

Place the small sealed bag into the larger bag. Ensure it is in the sleeve which can be sealed shut.

Call 0121 507 2664 and press option 6 to be prioritised in the

The sample is then ready to post into a red collection box.

Boost your immunity this winter

By Dr Arvind Rajasekaran, Consultant Respiratory Physician and Dr Masood Aga, Clinical Director for Occupational Medicine One viral infection has dominated our lives the past 18 months. The devastating effect it has had and is still having on our lives is known to us all. While it has been a difficult time, the pandemic has also taught us many things, not only in terms of scientific research but also how we can organise our personal lives and our working environment as we continue our efforts to face the challenges it has brought.

The one thing that has stood out time and again is the selflessness and perseverance of NHS colleagues in providing the best care in the most difficult of circumstances. The balancing act of looking after our patients whilst trying to keep ourselves and our families safe has not been an easy one for many of us. However, we have led by example, be it in terms of following the guidance around prevention through physical measures or being the first to come forward for vaccination.

preparing for a rise in cases of other respiratory viruses. Having a twin infection of flu and COVID at the same time is expected to be a more severe illness than either on its own. Fortunately, we have vaccines for both and recognising that NHS staff are at higher risk of exposure to infections, we are among the top priority group for vaccination. Vaccination against these viruses helps not only us but also keeps our families, patients and colleagues safe.

As we know, there is no one cure for viral infections and preventive strategies work the best. The mortality rates from COVID have steadily dropped over the past 18 months. Many factors including stringent infection control and social distancing measures contributed to this but none more than the vaccines. Vaccinated patients are generally less unwell upon presentation and get better quicker with hospital care as compared to unvaccinated patients. We also know that vaccination reduces the risk of infection and spread. Data also suggests that vaccination is helpful in preventing complications of COVID such as prolonged post-COVID symptoms (Long COVID).

Our annual NHS flu vaccination programme has over the years prevented millions of flu illnesses and hospitalisations. Studies have shown that successful Flu vaccines reduce the risk of ICU admission by 25 per cent and death by 30 per cent.

This autumn, all healthcare professionals will be invited to have the flu vaccines and having the flu vaccine and COVID vaccine together is safe. In our Trust, we recently launched our flu vaccination programme in September and the COVID vaccine booster dose will be available shortly after. The flu vaccine is best given before the peak of flu season to be effective for prevention and therefore it is highly recommended to have The NHS prepares itself for increased pressures it as soon as possible. every winter but this winter will be different Together, we can beat both of these as COVID continues to spread and we are viruses this winter!

Reflecting on COVID: Ruth Williams, Clinical Lead for community services Ruth Williams’ career in the NHS began in 1993, when she qualified as a speech and language therapist. After specialising in providing speech therapy for adults affected by an array of conditions, including strokes and Parkinson’s disease, the opportunity came for Ruth to move into a leadership role. With this, she was inspired to make a positive difference, and she is now responsible for 350 staff who look after the Sandwell community, including district nursing, community rehabilitation and urgent response teams all providing health care in patients homes. Pre-pandemic, Ruth’s role in the Trust was to bring all these services together to provide an improved integrated, shared service that would make patients’ care journey simpler and more efficient. However, the pandemic disrupted this as roles changed to meet the needs of an influx of COVID-19 patients. Reflecting on the first wave, Ruth says: “During the first wave, we got by purely on adrenaline. The sense of responsibility, guilt and shame was immense. We were having to tell colleagues to behave in one way with certain rules and then the messaging would

COVID-19 from a place of privilege ‘behind the scenes’ working from home. “The effect on my staff has been immense. They are physically and emotionally exhausted. They have needed lots of support, with some (not many) needing sick leave.

Ruth Williams, Clinical Lead for community services change again. “My role went from oversight and governance to having to ask my staff to put themselves in a difficult situation. Whilst I was working from an office base, I was asking them to go out and do home visits, pushing people out in to the unknown every day even though I could see the fear in their eyes.” When it comes to the emotional impact of the pandemic, Ruth said: “Personally, I’m still on an emotional rollercoaster, and this comes

“The impact is coming out in many different ways. In this type of work, staff don’t generally talk about how they feel – they put on their uniform and put on a different persona to go with it. We’re simply not trained to talk about our emotions, but we need to open up and say when we are facing difficulty. Many members of staff are likely to be suffering from PTSD either now or in the future. “Luckily, our Trust has set up a wellbeing hub, partially funded by NHS Charities Together funding, that’s been a lifeline for us. Staff have said without that, they wouldn’t have been able to return to work. We’ve been offering services such as counselling, and practical help such as quiet spaces.”

Leading the way in jabbing vulnerable youngsters Our City Hospital vaccination hub is the only clinic in the region delivering COVID-19 jabs to vulnerable young people. And the hub at Sheldon Block is soon set to be the central site for vaccinating this cohort of patients. Mary Parker, Clinical Lead Sandwell and City Vaccine Hubs told Heartbeat: “We initially started vaccinating extremely clinically vulnerable young people at the beginning of the September and then the clinically vulnerable were included midway through the month.”

“Most of the youngsters are interested in learning as much as possible about the vaccine and ask lots of questions - usually about mis-information such as the stories around infertility. We always reassure them as much as possible about the safety of the vaccine. “The parents tend to be more apprehensive than their children even though so far nearly all have already been vaccinated. We

had a dad come in with his child, and after hearing all the information we gave him about the jab he decided there and then to have it too!” The team at Sheldon are currently vaccinating approximately 40 young people per week. Very soon they will start to vaccinate healthy 12-15 year olds who will receive their vaccines at school.

The young people who attend the site are entitled to two jabs eight weeks apart. They are usually referred via their GP or the CCG who invite them to get vaccinated due to their increased risk. “So far we have mainly had youngsters from the local area,” added Mary. “When they attend the clinic they often talk about wanting to protect themselves, family and friends or that they want to do ‘what’s right’.

City Vaccination Hub

Hawthorns played host to first Trust leaders’ event in over two years health trauma. Our REACT practitioners and TRiM trainees are a key part of that approach.

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS

A number of colleagues exhibited at the conference including the MMUH project team, Your Trust Charity, the IT Helpdesk and Research & Development. Delegates were also able to sample the services on offer at the Trust’s Wellbeing Sanctuary and Wellbeing Hubs with massage tasters and massage chairs available.

140 of the Trust’s senior leaders met together on Tuesday 21 September at the Hawthorns, West Bromwich Albion Football Club to hear from our new CEO and Chair about the future direction for the organisation. This event is usually an annual conference, but COVID-19 restrictions meant that the event had to be cancelled last year. Delegates included the Trust Board members, Group clinical and corporate leaders and directorate leads. A number of safety measures were put in place to minimise the risk of spreading infection including reducing the number of attendees, wearing face masks when not eating / drinking and spaced out seating. All attendees were required to provide evidence of a negative LAMP or lateral flow test before being admitted to the conference. Keynote speakers included Saffron Cordery, Deputy Chief Executive from

Chief Executive Richard Beeken shares his vision for the future NHS Providers, who shared her thoughts on the landscape and future challenges for NHS organisations across the country. Professor Neil Greenberg, Managing Director from March on Stress and Professor of Defence Mental Health shared research on the impact of COVID-19 on NHS staff and provided information on evidence-based training that can lessen the risk of mental

Speaking about the conference, Richard Beeken, Chief Executive, said: “The conference provided the opportunity to brief our senior leaders on the new strategic objectives for the organisation and allow them to provide feedback and begin to shape the values that the Trust needs to have in order to be the organisation we want to be. By far the greatest benefit was the opportunity to be together, which we have so badly missed in the past 18 months.” As numbers were restricted, the Trust is planning several future events for leaders who were unable to attend that will include learning opportunities on the same subject areas.

An hour a week for your wellbeing Did you know that you have the opportunity to use an hour each week to focus on something that helps with wellbeing such as a learning and development activity, reading, walking, team discussion, or any other activity that supports your wellbeing? Wellbeing hour applies to all colleagues who are employees of the Trust, regardless of their role, department or their location of work. Wellbeing hour was introduced in June this year following feedback and suggestions from colleagues in relation to what support they would like to see as part of the recovery process from the pandemic.

The purpose of wellbeing hour is to create regular time during the working week for colleagues to focus on their wellbeing. Each member of staff is encouraged to nominate one hour per week as a dedicated time for this. This hour must be discussed and agreed with the line manager to ensure that we are still able to deliver services with minimal disruption for patients and other colleagues. Activities can be done as a team or individually. It can be challenging to find time to use the wellbeing hour when teams are so busy, however colleagues and managers are encouraged to talk to each other and find the best way to implement it where you work.

There is so much you could do as part of wellbeing hour including: • Online Yoga • Going for a walk (by yourself of with colleagues) • Visiting the library • Going to the gym • Visiting the wellbeing sanctuary or one of the wellbeing hubs • Doing an activity you enjoy Full guidance is available on Connect. In areas that use e-roster, a shift type has been created within the e-rostering system in order for managers to record when colleagues are taking wellbeing hour.

Still time to complete your SurgiNet training following go live SurgiNet officially launched across SWB CORPORATE AND GENERAL on Monday 27 September following the full dress rehearsal and though NEWS the launch was a success, it is essential that colleagues who will be using the system complete their training.

COVID-19

however for those who may find e-learning challenging, or have difficulties accessing a desktop computer or laptop, if they speak with their line manager we can ensure they are prioritised with face to face training sessions.”

Nearly two years ago we launched Unity, our electronic patient record and many of us cannot imagine working with paper records again. Our teams have now implemented the next part of the jigsaw, SurgiNet. SurgiNet is part of Unity and has replaced the IT theatres system ORMIS. Without SurgiNet, theatres would have depended on manual processes which ultimately have a risk associated with manual error. Data retrieval would have also remained problematic as ORMIS was difficult to report from. In order for colleagues to be able to use the software correctly, it is vital that colleagues fully understand how to use it. Andy Page, Patient Systems Training Manager is one the SurgiNet trainers and is urging all who haven’t completed the training to to get it done as soon as possible. He said: “Now that SurgiNet has been successfully introduced across the Trust it’s crucial all clinical colleagues who treat anyone going into theatres know how to use it effectively as using the programme is

Ahead of SurgiNet going live, our theatres team successful completed a full dress rehearsal a fundamental part of their job. “I am sure that theatre colleagues will quickly start to see the benefits of the new system, once they are trained and begin using the system on a regular basis.” Vicky Clifton, Improvement Project Manager echoes these thoughts and said: “It’s critical everyone whether that be surgical ward staff, surgeons or anaesthetists completes the SurgiNet does so as soon as they can as we have now gone live. “Knowing how to use SurgiNet will benefit colleagues massively as it will result in an increase in productivity and performance thus making them more efficient at their job which will only benefit our patient’s long term.” She added: “Training is still available as e-learning

Lissa McManus, Cutover Manager believes the launch of SurgiNet went better than she expected. She said: “With any new software there will always be teething issues and growing pains as ultimately you’re asking staff to change their way of working. On the whole, from all those I have spoken to thus far it’s a big thumbs up and I think in the coming months everyone will be reaping the benefits.” She added: “With repetition and time I think staff will only get more comfortable with SurgiNet however if there are any colleagues who are having difficulties in using it I’m urging them to get in touch with myself or the team.” For further details regarding e-learning please email swbh.informaticsbookings@ nhs.net. For more information regarding SurgiNet, please visit the SurgiNet Connect pages https://connect2.swbh.nhs. uk/trustindigital/surginet

Trust celebrates National Inclusion Week On Thursday 30 September, SWB celebrated National Inclusion Week at City Hospital.

out more about how SWB is trying to be a more inclusive organisation. “From our staff networks and cultural National Inclusion Week is recognised from ambassadors, to our Speak Up Guardians and Monday 27 September - Sunday 3 October Learning Works, there was an array of services on offer for colleagues to take advantage of,” with the aim to raise inclusion in the said Khalil Miller, EDI Manager. workplace. Now in its ninth year, the 2021 theme for the awareness week was ‘United “The last year has really brought the need for inclusion into sharp focus especially with many for Inclusion’ which is about bringing people and organisations together to share of us having spent the past twelve months learning and best practice so they can work working remotely so we hope that the United together to reach the shared goal of making for Inclusion 2021 theme of National Inclusion Week brought colleagues closer together.” inclusion an everyday reality. Khalil hopes that this event will be a stepping We celebrated National Inclusion Week by stone for equality and inclusion as he believes hosting a special event in our memorial it is vital in any organisation especially in one garden at City Hospital where we invited as diverse as SWB. colleagues along to visit our stalls and find

Colleagues at City celebrated National Inclusion Week He said: “Inclusion creates employee engagement and a sense of belonging which is why it is imperative the Trust has a diverse and inclusive environment.” He added: “There was a good turn out from both front line and desk based colleagues however I hope this is just the start in helping the Trust become an even more inclusive employer in the future.”

Putting safety first at Midland Met was even a free raffle with prizes up for grabs on the day, all courtesy of suppliers. Much to workers surprise on the day, Chief Executive, Richard Beeken, headed up the breakfast buffet and handed out food to all workers to thank them for their efforts, having completed two million hours onsite without an incident. One by one, they were given a delicious breakfast as they stopped to have a few words with Richard. Once everyone had enjoyed breakfast, they had the opportunity to visit some of the safety stalls and also take advantage of having their COVID-19 jab if they wished to. A mobile clinic was set up by our Trust to ensure workers had the opportunity to have the jabs.

The team at Balfour Beatty, our construction partners at Midland Met, recently celebrated a significant milestone in the build. Two million hours lost time incident free (LTI) was achieved onsite. It is a measure recognised and used internationally to benchmark health and safety performance across projects of this nature.

Construction worker, John, told Heartbeat that he chose to have his vaccination onsite as it was convenient for him. “Working away from home as I do on this build means that I don’t have access to my GP and health services I’m familiar with as I do back home. I’ve had my first vaccination and, having this clinic here today means I don’t have to find the time outside of work to look for somewhere to get my second jab. It’s useful for me getting it done here and gives me peace of mind knowing I’m fully vaccinated.”

The team celebrated this achievement with a hog roast breakfast for all of the workers. They also used the time to share some of the latest innovations at safety stalls. There

Similarly, construction worker, Ayron told us: “I work in telecommunications fitting all the fibre for the new hospital and I’m looking forward to going on holiday in November. I

Mary Parker, Clinical Lead Sandwell and City Vaccine Hubs with Richard Beeken, Chief Executive

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS noticed the vaccination clinic was here, so I’ve come along to have my second vaccination. It helps me out as it means I don’t need to go and find somewhere in the local area to have my jab and, I can go on holiday knowing I’m 100 per cent up to date with my vaccinations.” Warren Grigg, Senior Commissioning Manager remarked: “We work collaboratively with Balfour Beatty across everything associated with Midland Met. It goes without saying how important it is to monitor health and safety standards on a project like ours. “Achieving the safety milestone of two million hours worked without a LTI is a fantastic achievement for all involved. We were pleased to help join in the celebrations on the day. It was good to see Richard leading the way with the breakfast buffet and, having our vaccination clinic onsite worked well too. Several workers popped in to have either their first or second jab.” Congratulations to all involved on the build and thank you for your continued hard work.

Some workers enjoying their breakfast

Battling racism in medicine

By Sylvia Owusu-Nepaul, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead Midwife

schools today, as in medical devices that cater only for Caucasian skin types was also a topic of discussion. Although changes have been made within the NHS, I still believe that there are systems and processes that do not cater for diverse people which need to be changed to encompass the NHS constitution. My passion is therefore to drive this service forward to represent all people promoting equality and most of all equity along the way. The work of me and my colleague Afra Muflihi, Midwife will look at ensuring all patients have access to the same service and are not disadvantaged by language

Sylvia Owusu-Nepaul, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead Midwife I have been a midwife for over 28 years in the West Midlands and have seen a changing population, which unfortunately the NHS has been slow to catch up with. There have been many changes in the country which have impacted on relationships with people from different cultures such as 911, Brexit, the 2020 Euro football, and more recently people arriving from war torn countries. Some people have become more tolerant and others less tolerant to the changes. The sad and brutal murder of George Floyd highlighted a need for change in the country, also the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic where staff and service users from diverse populations were noticeably more at risk and suffered significantly in the first wave. There have been a lot of studies that recognise the “snowy white peaks” of the NHS however little has been done to challenge this. Racism has been a topic of interest for me for a long time as it is close to my heart, and myself and many of my colleagues have been subject to some form of micro aggressions, or blatant racism in one way or another. Therefore in order to reach a captive audience this topic was faced head on during a QIHD session with the literature to back it up, and enlighten staff who may not understand the significance of flippant comments that they make either to colleagues or to patients. The Eurocentric nature of medicine and how this has affected diverse populations, and how some of the belief systems are still held in medical

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS barrier, and digital poverty. We will also explore staff training on bias, protected characteristics, and task and finish groups for each area. We are both very passionate about this role and see them evolving with the changing needs of society. We hope to see a more engaged workforce and reduction in child and maternal mortality rates from diverse and socially isolated groups as a result of our work. I would like to share my poem titled The Journey – I hope you enjoy reading it.

The Journey by Sylvia Owusu-Nepaul So the NHS it seems… So full of glory Beneath it all, another story You study, work so hard, and give you best But the colour of your skin you’re just like the rest Passive aggressive, angry outspoken You are never good enough... in fact you’re broken You will never be as good as me Still swinging from tree to tree We’ll give you enough to keep you hanging on We’ll keep you working all life long Smother your dreams of promotion and progression Give you an “interim job” or a “step up” session We know you’re good, just not good enough In the NHS you just got to be tough Your time will come there’s some opportunities coming And on this myth we keep on running Chasing a dream with passion and feeling Held back by that ever white ceiling So this is my story in 2021 Not unlike the story told by my mum Who came in the 60s strived to be Caring and compassionate, so someone like me Could work in an environment where prejudice would be strange I sadly tell her nothing has changed

Celebrating our stars of the week

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS

Star of the Week

Kulvinder Batt, Senior HCA

Sameer Farooq Mohammed and Mujahid Sabir, performance and insight team

they did it was fantastic for building team engagement and great fun. They both ensured all documents and submissions were on time, took the lead on projects that were put forward for silver accreditation and guided them through the process of accreditation. Sameer and Mujahid’s demonstration of great leadership in organising and delivering the QIHD for the performance and insight team whilst performing their usual day jobs to a high standard has been nothing short of outstanding.

Both Sameer and Mujahid volunteered to lead the QIHD process on behalf of the performance and insight team and successfully executed the team getting from Bronze to Silver. The manner in which The outpatients department were recently asked to support a new process in urology that would deliver a one stop appointment to patients. Kulvinder embraced the training and although nervous volunteered to provide HCA support for the first week of clinics. Kulvinder acted professionally ensuring the consultant had total confidence in her ability to support the clinic. She ensured her patients felt safe and welcomed in the new environment. Kulvinder worked with the urology team to make sure this new way of working was successful and as a result enhanced patient care. Nothing is ever too much for Kulvinder and she will always take on extra tasks to ensure we provide our patients with the highest quality care. She is a credit to the outpatient team and SWB.

Star of the Week Jaqueline Slater, Matron

What they have both achieved through QIHD is exactly what it was set up for which is to build happy and productive teams, to create the next generation of leaders and to make meaningful improvements beyond everyday service. Jacqueline has proven to be a fantastic matron helping and supporting many of her colleagues across the Trust including Lyndon 2 and Newton 5. She has improved the standards massively on these wards whilst teaching and guiding her fellow nurses. Jacqueline has demonstrated she is an inspirational leader and is now continuing her great work at SWB on Priory 4.

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

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. 10

Wellbeing

Shout out has been a regular feature in Heartbeat and it is fantastic to see colleagues regularly taking the time to give positive feedback to each other. We regularly receive positive feedback from our patients too, and this month we wanted to share some of those heart-warming messages which have been sent via our website and social media platforms.

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS

To – Jaswant Kaur

To – Hayley Johnstone

To – Samantha Walden

Jaswant has done an amazing job cleaning BTC 5, going above and beyond. Just wanted to say thank you and keep up the good work.

Hayley was really helpful at supporting with a query I had with ESR and my learning record. We then got cut off mid conversation and she emailed me step by step instructions to help me find the information I needed next time. Thank you so much Hayley!

Organised a full study on falls and falls prevention for the elderly care group. Excellent speakers, case studies, interaction and engagement from staff. Plus Sam provided learning packs and pocket cards for all attending staff. Cannot wait to see this role out across MEC.

From – Louise Thompson

From – Jo Thomas

To – Faisal Khan

To – Rachael Currie

Faisal is such a hard worker. He has worked so hard in setting up our annual school readiness project and supporting training for his peer. We really appreciate all of your hard work.

Well done for the excellent score on your ACP course! Top of your class! Congratulations! Wishing you all the best!

From – Stacey Clarke

To – Post Room Porters I would like to thank them for their immense help in sourcing 'jiffy bag' envelopes in order to get something important to a patient as quickly as possible on 29 July. They helped every step of the way with a smile and a friendly demeanour. It made the whole process smooth and easy. Thank you From – Thomas Devaney

From – Hassan El Tagy

From – Heidi Ferrier-Hixon

To – Clare Williams To – Nicola Ager Nicola has been incredibly helpful in setting up a range of different online surveys for our team as part of her role in the library. She's been really responsive and patient with my list of demands! Thank you Nicola. From – Meggan Jarvis

To – Allyson Furnival After spending a considerable amount of time doing non-clinical duties (which have been a life saver to the whole department over the last 12 months), Ally has recently had to return to the wards to help the dietetic team. I can tell she did a fantastic job, spent quality time with patients, even sharing a laugh with them. Likewise she always brightens the office and is a much loved member of the team! From – Holly Roberts

Clare stepped in to help Community in a time of need by covering a very busy postnatal clinic for us (whilst she was on call for home births) which meant we did not need to cancel this clinic! In addition to this extra patients were added unknowingly which extended her clinic beyond her working day however she continued without complaint! Thanks Clare for you help today - very much appreciated by Sandwell Midwifes :) From – Nicola Tomkins

To – Vienna Morgan Vienna is a kind hearted, clever and extremely driven young HCA who is a joy to work with. I’ve been impressed at how she takes so much in her stride and is willing to challenge herself, push herself and learn. Along with her great sense of humour, all of these qualities make her a wonderful teammate to work with and I look forward to seeing where her career takes her.

To – Sue Butler

To – Dr Yassir Elkhatim

For coming to work in very short notice on two days when the ward has been short. Thank you Sue!

Thank you for the excellent care and always being there for staff and patients, you have lovely a combination of professionalism and a caring nature.

From – Abbie Millard

From – Mekka Hamed

From – Vijaytha Muralidharan To – Blue District Nursing Team To – Laura Worsey Laura is always very helpful and supportive to junior staff when they feel uneasy about performing skills they have not done in a while. She is always there to lend a hand and offer her knowledge in a professional manner, From – Clarice Cooper

Thank you all for working so hard in the recent workload and time pressures to provide the best possible care to our patients, keeping them all safe and well and supporting one another tremendously. From – Emily Hobbs

To – Mandeep Lalli Mandeep always does an amazing job creating work which improves patients experiences. She has been really helpful updating some existing posters and leaflets with QR codes to helpful videos. I don't know how she managed to fit the codes in without making the information look over crowded but she did because she can work miracles! Thank you Mandeep. From – Louise Thompson

Value Partnerships Creating more value for you

We work in partnership with NHS Trusts across the UK, supporting them to optimise operations, expand capabilities and advance innovation. From technology management and refresh, through to comprehensive reviews of approach and workflow, our innovative business models help you to increase enterprise-wide value to meet both your immediate and future goals.

Optimise: enhance processes, streamline operations, and improve patient experience Expand: add new capabilities and scale up existing ones to transform care delivery while maintaining quality and financial sustainability Advance: elevate the quality and precision of care delivery by advancing the level of innovation in your organisation Value Partnerships optimise care delivery to create more value for you. siemens-healthineers.co.uk/value-partnerships

R&D plays host to open days Our research and development team recently hosted two open days for clinical colleagues to find out more about the department and future opportunities.

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS equivalence of the work that our CRPs do and to professionalise the role.

The open days, were held at our research facility at Sandwell on Monday 6 September and at the BTC on Thursday 9 September and served to showcase what the team does and roles available within the team. “The visibility of R&D has increased across SWB during the COVID-19 pandemic, but we know many colleagues are unfamiliar with the work of the department and how the team supports patients within the Trust which is why we felt the need to host these open days,” said Sarah Potter, Senior Research Midwife.

areas, such as ophthalmology participating in research. This drive to be more inclusive is reflected in other Trusts also, with a wide range of research practitioner roles.”

Sarah added: “We have adopted the job title clinical research practitioner (CRP) to demonstrate research careers are available to all AHPs and clinical scientists, as well as those from a nursing or midwifery background. Within our Trust we have research physiotherapists and AHPs in

In addition to registered healthcare professionals, the team also have a role of clinical trials practitioner, which was previously for unregistered colleagues however from this year, CRPs can be registered with the Academy of Healthcare Scientists which is a positive step forward to recognising the

Our research and development team

Gina Dutton, Head of Research and Development added “Our aim is to increase the diversity of healthcare professionals into our research team which is why we wanted to speak to colleagues across the Trust who might have an interest in research. “The series of open events allowed colleagues to come to the department for an informal chat with members of the team on hand to explain the work of the patient facing R&D staff.” If you are interested in joining the research and development team or would like to find out more about future roles in the team, please email swbh.randd.generic@nhs.net or call ext. 5752 or ext. 2348.

Removing age discrimination from the NHS pension scheme In 2015 the government made changes to reform the majority of public service pension schemes. These reforms did not apply to members within 10 years of their normal pension age on the 31 March 2012, who remained in their legacy schemes with ‘transitional protection’. A court case determined that the way these schemes were introduced was discriminatory on grounds of age. It is often referred to as the McCloud judgment.

Did you join the pension scheme after 1 April 2012 Yes You will not be impacted by the remedy and your pension benefits will remain unchanged. You will continue to accrue benefits in the 2015 section.

As a result of this ruling, HM Treasury are now implementing a remedy to remove the age discrimination issue.

There is no action to take at the moment. Additional information will follow in due course, once the legislation has been finalised.

What the judgement means for you The intention is that the remedy will be implemented with effect from 1 April 2022, and it will impact on people differently, depending on their individual circumstances. Please review the separate flow chart for more information.

Further info Visit Connect for further information https://connect2.swbh.nhs.uk/ od/pensions/changes-to-nhspensions/

As at 31 March 2012 did you have less than 10 years until your Normal Pension Age and therefore you have not moved into the 2015 section?

Yes I remained in my original scheme.

From 1 April 2022 you will now move across into the 2015 section

No I had more than 10 years to my Normal Pension age and so moved into the 2015 section.

From 01 April 2022 you will be treated as if you had not moved into the 2015 section until 31 March 2022. You will then join the 2015 section from 1 April 2022.

You can access the full flow chart here https://connect2.swbh.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/McCloud-example-flow-chart.pdf?x35265

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. 14

Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust

Take part for a chance to win £200 worth of shopping vouchers Complete the survey to be automatically put into a prize draw. If you are one of the first 100 people to respond you could win £200 worth of shopping vouchers. There will also be further opportunities to win; with £50 worth of shopping vouchers being available to six lucky winners! Responses are strictly confidential - no one from the Trust will see your completed survey or be able to identify individual responses. By just giving 15 minutes of your time you can help make SWB the workplace we all want it to be.

Thank You to our Sponsors

Trust Comms gears up for TikTok addition audience. It fills the gap left by the Trust’s Vine account when that service closed.”

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS It is almost impossible to think of a time before social media, yet it has not even been 20 years since either Twitter (15) or Facebook (17) were founded. For better or worse it has become a daily part of our lives, changing the nature of our relationships with one another and even the news cycle itself. It has become an indelible part of how companies and organisations get their messages out to a wider external audience, and as such for some time now Sandwell and West Birmingham Trust has employed a number of official social media channels. Some of which you may not know about, such as the more business-focused LinkedIn account.

The account, which can already be found online under ‘swbhnhs’, is yet to post a video. However, there’s a good reason for that – it’s going to be a centre for all departments to contribute.

platforms it has. It’s rare for us to add a new SWB account, but when it comes to TikTok we think there’s scope for different types of content catered towards this younger-skewing

Now the Trust is welcoming another channel to its network, as it joins the burgeoning audience of TikTok. “One of the things we explain in our social media training sessions is that the landscape of social media is ever changing,” explains Kevin Eva, External Communications Officer and one of the Trust’s social media guardians. “Platforms come and go, how they are used changes too and the comms team is constantly analysing how best to use the

New accounts

communications team for further details.

Social media accounts representing the Trust can only be created with the permission of the communications team and any individuals operating them can only do so once they have completed a one hour training session. Admins of pages and accounts set up prior to the social media training coming into force must still undergoing training and the communications team added as an administrator of the account where relevant.

Follow the Trust on social media:

Training sessions are held monthly, users must be dedicated to posting and there is a limit on three members of staff as admins per account. Please contact the

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/ company/swbhnhs

Trust celebrates Green Impact Awards SWB hosted their annual Green Impact Awards presenting a total of 11 awards to a variety of individuals, teams and departments who have embraced the change of making their workplace a more environmentally friendly one. The awards ceremony was hosted digitally this year however this did not hinder the celebrations with an array of award winners from across the organisation showcased at the online event. The 2021 winners included: • Gold Award Winners: Alcohol Care and Cancer Services • Silver Award Winners: Estates, Medical Illustration • Bronze Award Winners: Pharmacy, Procurement and Macmillan Cancer team

“While comms oversees a number of other accounts for services and departments across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, we’re going to be operating things slightly different with TikTok. There’s just going to be the one account for us with everything consolidated.

Be sure to follow the Trust on our social media accounts. In the case of LinkedIn if you have a personal LinkedIn account make sure Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust is set as your current employer: Twitter: https://twitter.com/SWBHnhs Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ SWBHNHS Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ swbhnhs

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/ swbhnhs1

Fran Silcocks, Head of Sustainability, is a real advocate of Green Impact as the programme rewards those who embed positive environmental change within their workplace. Not only this, it seeks to improve health and wellbeing, build connections with other colleagues across the organisation and create positive environmental changes. She said: “Green Impact is a behaviour change programme which supports colleagues to make sustainable changes to their department. Even the smallest of changes can make a big difference.

Fran Silcocks, Head of Sustainability • • • •

Most Improved Team: Medical Illustration Print Best Newcomer: Procurement Environmental Hero Award: Amy Challinor, Pharmacy Technician Best Environmental Idea: Jenny Donovan, Cancer Services Manager

“As a Trust we have a large impact on the environment around us. Although we have implemented many infrastructure related projects, involving colleagues in taking action is crucial to our journey”. For more information about Green Impact, how your department can get involved and for all things sustainability at the Trust, please contact francesca.silcocks@nhs.net.

Violence and aggression will not be tolerated Facing verbal threats, physical abuse and intimidation from families, patients and the public is absolutely not acceptable and should not be tolerated – we are applying a zero tolerance approach. Whilst COVID-19 has brought out the best in some people, acknowledging, understanding and welcoming the support of clinical colleagues, it has however also brought out the worst in others who have sought out to intimidate and assault those who do their best to help them. Whilst some would say ‘it comes with the territory’ and ‘we have learnt to accept it’ our Trust stands firm that this behaviour will not be tolerated. COVID-19 has led to tensions as worried patients, families and members of the public seek to understand the situation, struggle with the realities of lockdown and visiting restrictions but it must be clear that colleagues must be able to work in safe surroundings.

Rob Kingston, Volunteer

Statistics in the national staff survey have shown that across the NHS more than one in four NHS colleagues (28.5%) said they had experienced harassment, bullying or abuse from patients, relatives or members of the

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS public, almost one in seven (14.9%) experienced physical violence, and almost 40,000 of those who responded (7.2%) said they faced discrimination from patients over the last year – up from 5.8% in 2015.

What can we do? First and foremost, all incidence of violence and aggression must be reported, colleagues are not expected to tolerate and ignore until issues escalates as often a well-placed intervention from a member of the security team or police can defuse and deescalate a situation. If support is needed to manage an incident of violence or aggression, security can be contacted by dialling 2222 on the internal phone lines and likewise Police are available via (9)999.

New national quarterly staff survey results now available Thank you to colleagues who took time to give their feedback in the inaugural Quarterly Pulse Survey. Over 1,500 gave their responses.

The results have been shared with group leads. The groups will be holding more listening events in November where we hope many of you will be able to join in to hear the improvements that have been made as well as make suggestions.

It is encouraging to see some good scores on motivation and recommendation

You can see the full reports on Connect https://connect2.swbh.nhs. uk/communications/surveys/

• Time often/always passes quickly when I am working – 72 per cent • Care of patients is my organisation's top priority – 73 per cent. Disappointingly, when asked further regarding recommendation, improvement and motivation, the respondents did not score the organisation highly • I often/always look forward to going to work – 50 per cent • I am able to make improvements happen in my area of work – 52 per cent

• I would recommend my organisation as a place to work – 51 per cent •

If a friend or relative needed treatment I would be happy with the standard of care provided by this organisation- 59 per cent.

The Trust is working hard to ensure we understand why people are scoring the organisation low in these areas as well as act on all feedback received so we may be able to make the organisation a great place to work.

Seeking your views in the national NHS Staff Survey You will have now been approached to take part in the national staff survey either by email or paper directly to your home. Please take time to complete the survey so we can continue to make SWB a great place to work and receive care.

Antibiotic resistance – a silent pandemic

By Dr Tranprit Saluja, Consultant Microbiologist and Antimicrobial Stewardship Lead

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS The rise and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is creating a new generation of multi drug resistant organisms or ‘superbugs’ that cannot be treated with existing medicines. Antibiotic resistance is a scary yet very real threat the world is facing - with an ever-increasing number of resistant superbugs emerging and a severe lack of new treatment options. It is now estimated 700,000 people die each year as a result of antimicrobial resistance, with this number predicted to increase to over 10 million deaths per year by 2050. The current COVID-19 pandemic appears to have accelerated the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), as many patients admitted to hospitals displaying COVID-19 symptoms are treated with antibiotics to reduce their chances of contracting secondary bacterial infections, making resistant bacteria more common. Everyone needs to get involved to prevent antimicrobial resistance. The small changes that we can make in our daily lives, can add up to large scale change and help to avert this ‘silent pandemic’ – we too have a role, and we can make a difference. Human actions in the form of overprescribing, overconsumption and a general complacency to use board spectrum antibiotics has got us to a situation where resistance threatens many aspects of our lives. We regularly see outbreaks of resistant bugs here in the Midlands, the UK and wider afield. There are bugs out there that are almost untreatable, and we are failing to keep up with developing new, effective antibiotics. Resistance anywhere threatens people everywhere, due to the ease of movement of people, animals and goods around the world (consider how quickly COVID-19 has spread around the globe). The threat of antibiotic resistance to modern medicine and the economy can directly affect us and our livelihoods, as well as the individual patient harm it can cause. Again, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and powerless, to criticise the pharmaceutical industry for not doing enough, blame prescribers for writing too many prescriptions and complain about the poor controls on antibiotics in many parts of the world which helps to drive resistance. All these things (and many

Dr Tranprit Saluja, Consultant Microbiologist and Antimicrobial Stewardship Lead more) need to be tackled, but like climate change, there is a lot that we as individuals can do and when we do them regularly and consistently, it all adds up. There is requirement to reduce total antimicrobial consumption as part of the standard contract with the CCG, driven by the National Action Plan for Antimicrobial Resistance. Previous CQUIN targets have focused on reducing antibiotic consumption for key agents such as piperacillin/tazobactam and carbapenems, as well as increasing the proportion of agents used from the WHO ‘Access’ list of antimicrobial agents. Shift in focus from CQUIN targets, which have previously had a value of approx. £160,000 per annum per target, to the standard contract with CCG, where penalties can range from 1-3 per cent of the Trust’s total operating budget. Data from the Define reporting system has indicated that total antibiotic consumption may be between 11 and 28 per cent above target, driven in the last 12 months by the pandemic; this is a trend across many NHS Trusts and is not unique to SWB. So, how could we achieve this at SWB? Always: • Send microbiology samples in the right container (e.g. red topped bottle for urine) • Make a weekend plan for antibiotic treatment • Ask the medical team if IV antibiotics are still needed after 48 hours of treatment • Check if ultra-broad spectrum antibiotics are approved by

microbiology or in line with guidelines • Check that the duration of antibiotics on discharge is appropriate • Ask if antibiotics are still required after 7 days of treatment • Check microbiology results before prescribing antibiotics • Check microbiology results to de-escalate board spectrum antibiotics to narrow spectrum antibiotics • Use Start Smart, then Focus approach • Do not start antimicrobials in the absence of clinical evidence of infection. Imagine if every day at SWB, nursing colleagues asked the medical team to review if the IV antibiotics were still required for patients who are eating, drinking and taking other medication orally? Many patients could be switched to oral antibiotics, saving nursing time, saving precious money, making patients more comfortable and allowing them to go home sooner. Some patients might need a longer course of IV antibiotics, but no one has been harmed by at least asking the question. Everyone is busy and under pressure, so often we leave things like this for another time or rely on someone else doing it. The end result can be extra unnecessary days of treatment than can be harmful – all because no one thought to ask or question it. Striving for incremental improvement, and asking that question for just one extra patient each day could make a huge difference.

Sites turn pink for Organ Donation Week CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS decision, when they already know that their loved one wants it to happen.”

Sites turn pink for Organ Donation Week To raise awareness around Organ Donation Week the Trust turned the sky pink across our sites. The A&E department at Sandwell Hospital, along with the Birmingham Treatment Centre and the Organ Donation Memorial in the Remembrance Gardens at City Hospital were lit up as part of Organ Donation Week which took place from 20 to 26 September. The Light It Up Pink initiative is inspired by the colour of the NHS Organ Donor Register card. The organ donation team hoped it would encourage staff and residents to talk about the subject, and share with their families their decisions on the matter. Currently, 70,119 people in Sandwell and West Birmingham are already on the NHS Organ Donor Register. However, people need to tell their family to help ensure their family supports their decision, if they are approached about organ donation by a specialist nurse in hospital. In May 2020, the law around organ

donation in England changed to an ‘opt out’ system. This means that a person would be willing to donate their organs, unless they have opted out, are in one of the excluded groups or have told their family they do not want to donate. Specialist Nurse for Organ Donation, Kerry Mills said: “Our buildings and the memorial looked fabulous and we hoped this will help get people talking and finding out more about organ donation. “We also need people in Sandwell and West Birmingham to get talking at home. Tell your friends and family what you want to happen in the event of your death and check you know the decision of wider family members. “Sadly, many opportunities are lost every year in the community and around the country because families don’t know if their loved one wanted to be a donor or not. It is important that people know that you still have a choice and family members will still be consulted before organ donation goes ahead. Families are more likely to support an organ donation

This year, organ donation has also been added to the National Curriculum for the first time and youngsters are being encouraged to get together to talk about their own donation decisions. Anthony Clarkson, Director of Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation, for NHS Blood and Transplant said: “It’s brilliant that Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust is showing support for Organ Donation Week. “We’d like people in the community to just talk to their families. Even though the law around organ donation has now changed in England, people still have a choice and families will still always be consulted before organ donation goes ahead. “Please, tell your family you want to save lives through organ donation, because it could be the difference between life and death for someone else.” To find out more and register your decision, visit: www.organdonation. nhs.uk. Alternatively, users of the NHS app can use this to record, check and update your details and organ donation decision.

‘Hug-in-a-bag’ bring smiles to survivors A brilliantly caring and compassionate charity has been bringing smiles to the faces of breast cancer survivors undergoing the chemotherapy and radiotherapy at our Trust with their innovative ‘hugs in a bag’ campaign. Brimming with thoughtful gifts for ladies attending undergoing treatment, the bags donated by ‘Ladies fighting breast cancer’ have been a welcome arrival at clinics where patients beginning their often long and arduous cancer journey can get some welcome relief from their contents. Sharing her thoughts on the care packages, Macmillan Breast Care Nurse, Catherine Zaidi-Crosse said: “We were first contacted by ‘Ladies Fighting Breast Cancer’ who were incredibly helpful in offering support

and discussing how they could help us. They very kindly offered to support us with their ‘hug-ina-bag’ programme and the support didn’t stop there.

Find out more information about being breast aware online at https://www.nhs. uk/common-health-questions/womenshealth/how-should-i-check-my-breasts/

“Ladies fighting breast cancer have gone on to support one of our patients with a bursary as well as providing special arm pillows for ladies who have recently undergone surgery.” Checking for changes – By checking your breasts regularly you will be able to more easily identify if there is a change as soon as it occurs. Breast changes can happen for many reasons, and most of them are not serious. Lots of women have breast lumps, and most breast lumps are not cancerous. However, if you find changes in your breast that are not normal for you, it's best to see a GP as soon as possible.

Ladies fighting breast cancer donate care package to cancer patients

Changes to flexible working procedure CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS As you may be aware, Section 33 of the NHS Terms & Conditions Handbook changed to reflect a change in approach to flexible working. This reflects the

commitment in the NHS People Plan to support our colleagues to achieve a healthy work-life balance, to aid staff retention as well as attracting new and diverse talent to the organisation. Research shows that there is an increasing demand for flexible working from colleagues across all age ranges and genders. Some of the advantages of flexible working are below:

might be available to help employees think about whether they want to make a request.

• All flexible working requests will now be made via ESR Self Service and the paper application form will be discontinued. (User guidance is available on Connect as follows: For Employee Self Service: https:// connect2.swbh.nhs.uk/esr/ employee-self-service/ For Manager Self Service use: https://connect2. swbh.nhs.uk/esr/esr-service guides/ (under Personal and Assignment Information)).

Employees

Employers

Improved job satisfaction

Widens talent pool for recruitment and addresses skill shortages

Higher level of engagement

Widened participation and improved diversity of workforce

• A new formal procedure which includes the following stages:

Improved health & wellbeing

Reduced cost where full time cover not required and reduced agency costs

A better work-life balance

Engaged and committed employees

Support to manage carer responsibilities

Reduced sickness absence

Stage 1 – Initial Exploratory Stage: The employee and manager meet to work through what the employee wants to achieve and to identify, evaluate (and agree where possible) options for achieving it.

Increased sense of autonomy & control

Narrowing gender pay gap

Sense of belonging

Improved recruitment and retention –employer of choice

We are in the process of working with our staff side representative to develop a revised flexible working policy to reflect the change in ethos and process within the NHS. As a temporary measure, we have developed an Interim Flexible Working Procedure to reflect the key changes, which will act as an addendum to the existing Flexible Working Policy HR 033 to ensure managers and staff are aware of the key elements of the new process. The key changes include: •

A stronger focus on creatively exploring ways to support flexible working wherever possible, whilst still supporting high

quality, effective service delivery.

• The right for all employees to request flexible working from the first day of their employment regardless of the reason for the request, or the role/band or grade/area the individual is employed in. • No limit on the number of flexible working requests that can be made in a 12 month period. •

A focus on normalising flexible working conversations through regular and informal discussions at induction, PDR, 1:1s and team meetings. The purpose of this is to explore the individual’s needs and wishes and what options

Stage 2 – Escalation Stage: Where the line manager has not been able to accommodate the request within the immediate team after full consideration of alternative options, they will escalate to the Group Director of Operations (or equivalent) who will nominate an appropriate senior manager to review other options, including consideration of whether the request can be accommodated outside of the immediate team. Stage 3: Decision stage – The decision is confirmed in writing. Stage 4: Appeal – There is an appeal stage within the procedure. • There is a heightened expectation around the central monitoring of and reporting on flexible working requests. There will also be some supporting resources for managers developed in due course. If you have any questions about the interim procedure, please contact the HR department on ext. 6680.

Work

Life

For employees that need assistance with using ESR to make a flexible working request please liaise with your line manager in the first instance. You can also email the ESR Helpdesk via swbh.esrhelpdesk@nhs. net . Further training materials on the use of ESR to make flexible working requests are in development and will be available in due course. For more information please visit Connect.

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Information Governance support has changed… We have taken the decision to outsource some of the Information Governance (IG) expertise for a number of reasons.

The new service has been in place since 16 August and colleagues have fed back positively on the timely and helpful responses received.

The Trust’s Data Protection Officer can be contacted on:

• To develop and embed processes required to ensure we are complaint with Data Protection regulations

The team consists of, IG experts:

swbh.swbdpo@nhs.net

Curtiss Green and Keith James

Please remember to stay complaint with your annual mandatory Data Security Awareness training.

• To ensure we are able to bid for business in the competitive market • To ensure we are able to meet statutory IG obligations •

To provide timely advice to colleagues on all IG matters including Data Sharing Agreements (DSA), Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIA)

E-mail: swbh.infogov@nhs.net and

07773 101075

Ashok Dass – Information Governance Assistant Telephone: 0121 507 4681 E-mail: swbh.infogov@nhs.net

• To provide a knowledgeable and accessible Data Protection Officer (DPO) • To support the Freedom Of Information process, advising when exemptions can be applied.

Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust

Cancer Centre reopens on 20th anniversary It’s been 20 years since the Courtyard Cancer information and Support Centre opened at Sandwell Hospital – and what better way to mark the occasion than the Mayor of Sandwell meeting the volunteers who have devoted their time to helping people during this time. The anniversary, on 14 September, also saw the reopening of the centre, based in the main reception area, after it was closed for 18 months due to the COVID pandemic.

Pat Ditchfield who has been a volunteer at the centre since its opening in November 2001, said: “I am really pleased the centre is re-opening after closing during the pandemic. We are here to answer any queries and can offer help and support on a wide range of issues. “This includes access to specific support services such as financial help, support groups and emotional support along-side quality information,

and if we don’t have an answer straight away, we will certainly do our best to find it.” The celebration was topped off with a cake sale for colleagues where money raised will be split between the Cancer Services Your Trust Charity fund and Macmillan. To contact The Courtyard Centre, Sandwell Hospital call 0121 507 3792 or email to swbh.livingwithandbeyondcancer@nhs.net

Mayor, Councillor Mushtaq Hussain and his Consort, Amar Mushtaq, were left impressed by those dedicated to the cause. Emma Hunstone, Macmillan Community Facilitator, said: “It was a great to celebrate 20 years of the centre, which is there to support people who have been impacted by cancer across Sandwell and west Birmingham. “We were pleased to be joined by the Mayor and his Consort, who met with our team of volunteers and congratulated them on getting the centre back open after being closed due to the COVID pandemic. “It is so important that people know we are open for help and support and that people have access to support and information that is reliable, current and that meets their needs. I would really encourage people to seek advice if they are worried about cancer.”

The Mayor of Sandwell, Councillor Mushtaq Hussain (right) with his consort and son Amar Mushtaq and the volunteers who have supported the Courtyard Cancer Information and Support Centre over the past 20 years

To dip or not to dip – that is the question Dip testing of urine is common in the NHS and almost universally expected by patients who present with a suspected urinary tract infection (UTI). However evidence shows that clinicians must not undertake a urine dip in patients above 65 years of age. Urinary dip sticks will be positive in the majority of older patients (>65yrs) and those with a catheter. Asymptomatic bacteriuria is common in the elderly and does not require treatment. Often the best course of action when a patient presents with a common symptom is to start with the least intrusive test, something that can be quick and easy and provide that much needed clinical indication that can help you diagnose, plan and treat. However, research and evidence shows that urine dip tests can sometimes be misleading – sometimes patients who present with some symptoms indicating a UTI and who we then decide to dip test may well test positive for bacteria – but this could be quite normal. Whilst most clinicians would not begin a treatment plan on a single indicative dip test and some presenting symptoms

– evidence shows that we are increasingly reaching for antibiotics. Bacteria can live harmlessly in the urine of older patients and around 50 per cent of older patients will have bacteria in their urine; when we look at patient with a long-term catheter, 50 per cent would jump to a staggering 100 per cent showing a positive dip test. All urinary catheters will become colonised, therefore bacterial growth from catheter urine sample must be interpreted in the context of clinical urinary tract symptoms. Remember dip tests look for the presence of bacteria not the whether the bacteria are causing an infection. Dip tests do serve a purpose and they do so quickly and effectively, what we are calling for is for colleagues to remain vigilant, use the signs and symptoms associated with UTI’s to back up your test. This is NOT indication for stating antimicrobial therapy. If antibiotics are prescribed to patients who don’t have an infection, 1 in 3 will develop a complication, and that can be anything from a stomach upset, rashes or even Clostridium difficile and select out further antibiotic resistance making it challenging to treat.

MEDICINE AND EMERGENCY CARE One of the most important things to remember is that the more you use antibiotics, the more resistant they become and with fewer and fewer new antibiotics being available, we all have a part to play in ensuring appropriate antibiotic use. For more information on antibiotic awareness, contact Dr Tranprit Saluja, Consultant Microbiologist and Antimicrobial Stewardship Lead at: tsaluja@nhs.net National Guidelines: “People >65 years should have a clinical assessment before being diagnosed with UTI” (NICE) “Do not use urine dipstick testing in the diagnosis of older people with possible UTI” (SIGN) “Do not use dipstick testing to diagnose UTI in adults with urinary catheters” (NICE)

Reflections of the pandemic from healthcare science IMAGING Over the coming weeks, we’ll be bringing you the reflections of the pandemic through the eyes of some of our healthcare science disciplines.

guidance around continued running of radiopharmacy services during the pandemic, which was led by the radiopharmacy at SWB. This is something I’m proud of, and which I hope helped colleagues elsewhere.”

First off we caught up with Jilly Croasdale, Head of Radiopharmacy Department and Associate Director Healthcare Science to find out how radiopharmacy have adapted. Jilly told us: “As associate director, healthcare science I act as lead scientist for the Trust and try to represent all the healthcare scientists who work for us. I look forward to being able to share with you how we have responded to the challenges posed by COVID-19. “But to start with my discipline, radiopharmacy; the team make medical isotopes for use in nuclear medicine studies at our own Trust and for other hospitals in the region These radiopharmaceuticals are used in nuclear medicine to image how well organs are working. Most radiopharmaceuticals are administered by intravenous injection, so their preparation needs to be performed under aseptic conditions. All radiopharmaceuticals are, by definition, radioactive, so radiation protection also forms an integral part of the job.”

Jilly Croasdale So how have the team coped with the challenges posed by COVID-19, we asked. Jilly explained: “We are used to using PPE, so we were able to adapt well to the increased infection control requirements. “The department provided crucial support to clinical nuclear medicine services in order for them to continue to see urgent patients. We worked with other organisations to set up contingencies to benefit the whole region, particularly in terms of potential staffing shortages. Both University Hospitals Birmingham and New Cross in Wolverhampton agreed to support this, and their staff came to SWB radiopharmacy to train in manufacturing, releasing and packing of radiopharmaceuticals. This prompted the development of national

Jilly added: “The COVID pandemic has forced many of us to work differently, and for us, the increased collaborative working across Trusts and working with our immediate neighbours to develop solid contingencies for staff shortages for all organisations has been positive. It shows the true spirit of the NHS - everyone in all the teams worked together to continue making a difference to the patients we support in all our organisations.” “The last 18+ months have been extremely challenging, for some very much more than others. But I couldn’t be prouder of my entire team. Everyone looked after and supported each other, as well as pulling together to ensure we had good contingencies in place and were able to keep services running. I’d like to say thank you to them for everything they’ve done over the last 18+ months.”

Therapists making a difference in safety huddles PRIMARY CARE, COMMUNITIES AND THERAPIES Therapy is an integral part of the safety huddles, making an equal multidisciplinary team contribution as all the other disciplines. Sophie Whiles, Occupational Therapist (medicine therapy team) told us that safety huddles strengthen the integrated working partnership across all disciplines and provide a platform for her to voice her thoughts. She said: “Safety huddles enable a series of improvements in patient safety via team effort. For example, undertaking proactive medical equipment maintenance; which reduces a significant volume of unnecessary downtime of clinicians, so they can see more patients, provide better care and compliment patient flow. The proactive medical equipment maintenance is likely to provide a positive financial impact to

The medicine therapy team the Trust as well.” Also from medicine therapy, Team Lead, Hannah Craven-Jenns added: “Our team members cover multiple wards so we are not as visible on one single ward as we would like to be. Safety huddles really help us to be integrated into individual wards, to be part of the team and to work as one team. Through safety huddles, we can bring up essential information in a more structured manner such as patient safety details and other information such as staffing levels. These ‘heads-ups’ (proactive communications) help all of us to be more supportive of each other.”

Sophie Baggott, Clinical Lead for Acute Paediatric Physiotherapy Service agreed entirely that safety huddles are an effective platform to raise any concerns. She said: “Safety huddles are a great opportunity to brief everybody at the same time, and demonstrate a multi-professional integrated approach. We are also involved in the weekly huddles where Lyndon Ground, Priory Ground, Lyndon 1 and CECU get together to work on various quality improvement projects.” Sophia Parsons, Team Lead for Intermediate Care primarily working with iBeds, told us: “Safety huddles have brought the teams together. They are very informative which helps all disciplines to provide a higher standard of safety to our patients and initiate continuous improvement. We also provide enablement training to iBeds colleagues. We were delighted to discover that anyone who attends the weekly iBeds huddles is treated to tea and a biscuit!”

Exercise video provides continuity of care We all know the ways in which we work has changed because of the pandemic over the last 18 months. Many of us have adapted to ensure that our patients continue to receive the right information so we are able to continue caring for them. The community cardio respiratory service is doing just that – by creating an exercise video that can be accessed by patients from home. Ruth Morrey, Senior Respiratory Physiotherapist, explained: “Pulmonary rehabilitation as we were running it before had to stop at the beginning of the pandemic. As a result we had to adapt and change the service. “One example of this was by running a virtual programme and adapted faceto-face sessions. It’s important that our patients in the community can continue to exercise after the group and this video should allow them to do that. “This video complements both the virtual as well as face-to-face programmes we have been running, allowing patients to continue to feel the benefits of the sessions after they have finished.” Patients under the respiratory arm of the

Rianne Caines and Ruth Morrey have created an exercise video for patients to access at home service have chronic respiratory conditions such as COPD with breathlessness being a major symptom. Pulmonary rehab is an exercise and education programme which amongst other benefits helps patients to manage their symptoms and feel fitter. Ruth has teamed up with colleague Rianne Caines, also a physiotherapist, to create the video working with the communications department. The 13-minute film advises patients about safety, followed by warm up exercises. It then goes onto demonstrate aerobic and

strengthening exercises. Both Ruth and Rianne star in the video. “It was important that we were featured as we have been providing the sessions for patients and are familiar faces,” added Rianne. “We have a good relationship with them and hopefully it will mean that they do watch the video and carry out the exercises.” The community cardio respiratory service provides a number of services for patients with chronic respiratory disease and heart failure in the community.

Linking up to drive service improvements in district nursing Our district nursing teams play a vital role in delivering care to our patients. As well as providing direct patient care, they have a teaching and support aspect to their roles, working with patients to enable them to care for themselves or with family members teaching them how to give care to their relatives. Plus, they help to keep hospital admissions and readmissions to a minimum. Ensuring that these teams have the skills and support to develop is crucial. As such, we created a clinical lead link nurse role within the district nursing service. We caught up with Andrea Austin, District Nurse Team Leader, to find out more. Andrea explained: “Experienced community nurses were given the opportunity to apply for these clinical lead positions as link nurses with a specialist interest in focussed areas of care. Successful recruitment began in late 2019 and, those appointed began their roles. The pandemic placed unique pressures on our service, so we decided to pause the development of the link nurse roles. As we are now taking steps forward in our recovery plans, I began to lead a project to develop, coach and mentor the clinical lead link nurses from April this year.” Andrea continued: “The new positions focus on our priority areas of care which are

dementia, diabetes, end of life care and wound care. Currently, we have two dementia link nurses (Dawn Jones and Amy Pete), along with one dementia nurse focusing on care homes (Sue Millward), one end of life care nurse (Paula Blackhall), one link nurse for diabetes care (Ross Forbes) and four link nurses concentrating on wound care (Caroline Bernard, Sharon Heywood, Rachel Owen-Tennant and Faye Parrott). We also currently have two vacant positions - one for end of life care and one for diabetes care.“The aim is to add an extra layer to our service. The clinical lead link nurses spend 50 per cent of their time working as a traditional clinical lead within a district nursing team and 50 per cent of their time as a link nurse for their area of focus. It means improved patient outcomes across all specialties, reduced hospital admissions, and a greater focus on proactive care management plans. As well as this, it means that we are continually improving our knowledge and supporting development. For others, it means that we are the links quite literally between teams - we provide a formal link to specialist team members.” When thinking about the developments since launching, Andrea remarked there had been several benefits. “We have referral pathways for all focused areas along with electronic resource folders so that colleagues can access the same consistent information within the directorate. “In a short space of time, the team have helped to build upon relationships with specialist areas to

PRIMARY CARE, COMMUNITIES AND THERAPIES improve patient care. Link nurses are now accessing reports and identifying patients that may require further follow up action. From a staff perspective, we’ve begun leading practical competency workshops and providing additional learning opportunities for all staff.” Looking ahead to the future, Andrea said that she hoped that as the roles become fully embedded within the organisation and, improve patient outcomes as care delivery reflects best practice guidance. Feedback from colleagues that have accompanied link nurses on patient visits has been positive. A colleague said: “Thank you for your support today with my palliative patients. I was not aware the service you and your colleagues provide even existed until today. I found your attendance not only supportive but also found it very educational. As you know, I qualified in the last year - I believe the support your service provides is vital for newly qualified nurses.” To find out more email andreaaustin@nhs.net.

BadgerNet ‘sett’ for upgrade WOMEN AND CHILD HEALTH It’s been a long time (2014 in fact) since Heartbeat first wrote about BadgerNet - the maternity services that steer mums through their pregnancy pathway. Over the years we’ve updated you on the varying developments with BadgerNet, including the introduction in 2019 of the single pregnancy record, after Black Country healthcare trusts came together to make changes to make it a truly single record. Freeing up approximately 3,000 hours of clinical time per annum that data transfer used to take. The existing BadgerNet data set provides a means of obtaining information data for contracting purposes, for the Neonatal Operational Network and to meet the required reporting standards. On 18 October the current BadgerNet dataset will be upgrading to the Neonatal BadgerNet full EPR utilised in other local organisations.

“As the Trust progresses its digital agenda, with the introduction of Unity EPR it has been recognised by the speciality leads and clinicians working on the neonatal unit there are challenges as anticipated with the continued utilisation of the BadgerNet dataset, Unity and paper notes to document care,” Hannah Probert, Service Manager for Women and Child Health explains to Heartbeat. “Neonatal Unity has posed many disadvantages as Unity doesn’t meet the neonatal unit requirements.This has resulted in challenges with drug, intravenous fluid administration, and documentation. Whilst work has been undertaken to mitigate the risks by bespoke service change requests pertaining to the unit, a bespoke neonatal full EPR would be the best solution.” Benefits include the introduction of a neonatal BadgerNet full EPR will help to enhance seamless care, as it will allow for patient records/information to be viewed in one place, which interfaces with the maternal BadgerNet system. This improved information flow allows babies admitted to the neonatal unit from the maternity unit to have their registration details, and other relevant

information from maternity BadgerNet pulled through allowing the clinicians to view patient records in one place. Upgrading to neonatal BadgerNet will allow more time for the provision of direct care, and will also assist the unit’s ability to track available cot spaces and to repatriate babies in a timely way. Neonatal BadgerNet will also allow for greater engagement and partnership with parents during their baby’s episode of care, as it allows parents to access baby diary - a portal allowing parents to access information about their child’s care, which the parents can share with family members. It also allows neonatal unit colleagues to upload messages and photographs to parents which is beneficial to parents separated from their baby which facilitates better mental health, improves bonding and potentially breastfeeding rates. “There is further scope tor interface the proposed Neonatal BadgerNet with pathology, monitors and devices,” adds Hannah. “This will allow access to results from the BadgerNet EPR record as well as other baby information which would also integrate.”

New treatment for overactive bladder syndrome

So, how does it work? PTNS uses electrical stimulation of the sacral nerve plexus and can be performed in an outpatient setting, connecting electrodes to the patient’s Tibial nerve via the ankle and allowing electrical impulses to run for up to 30 minutes.

Graphics demonstrating Percutaneous Tibial Nerve Stimulation (PTNS) A minimally invasive treatment for women suffering from overactive bladder syndrome is now being offered to our gynaecology patients. Percutaneous Tibial Nerve Stimulation (PTNS) is used to treat overactive bladder syndrome of which the symptoms include the need to urinate often and without much warning, and urge incontinence (the strong need to urinate followed by an inability to stop passing urine). It is caused by the bladder muscle contracting before the bladder is full. The treatment is currently been used in the ambulatory gynaecology department

at Sandwell Hospital and has been in action since February this year. It was introduced to the Trust to allow offering of a new urogynaecology ambulatory service to patients with a urodynamic diagnosis of detrusor over activity who are refractory to conservative methods and drug therapy. PTNS is a nurse-led therapy and will be provided to patients in the uro-gynaecological ambulatory setting. The running of the service is led by the advanced nurse practitioner, following an approved referral pathway and treatment protocol, which has input from our pelvic floor MDT.

The standard treatment protocol is one treatment per week for a 12 week period. There are no known adverse side effects, and the 12 week protocol has been shown to have up to a 60 per cent improvement rate (Wall & Heesakkers, 2017). New patients are treated once per week for 12 weeks. It is recommended that follow-up treatments are then scheduled at increasing intervals for the following three months, after which the patient can self-refer for further treatment on an as need basis, depending on the symptom control. Monica Quinlan, Uro-Gynaecology Advanced Clinical Practitioner said: “We have found that patients have responded to treatment and the services positively they have reported that the service is highly accessible and friendly.”

swbh.nhs.uk/charity

Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust

Join our crane

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Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 March 2022

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

Pulse

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News in brief from around our organisation

IMAGING

Brenda waves goodbye

feedback from patients and their parents which has been really rewarding.”

For Acute Paediatric Matron, Brenda Taylor, setting up the Children’s Emergency Care Unit (CECU) at the Trust has been one of her most rewarding yet challenging achievements during her short time here. The project at City Hospital began just as the COVID pandemic gripped the world – yet it was a vital part of a new care pathway for our young patients. For Brenda it was however, a fitting end to a nursing career that began in June 1985. “I started here in February 2020. It was right at the start of the pandemic and I must admit it was scary. I was beginning the final year of my working life but it’s been the hardest by far,” said Brenda who retired at the end of August. But her time here has also been equally as rewarding.

Brenda originally started her career at a hospital in Burton on Trent in adult nursing and then went to Birmingham Children’s Hospital in 1990. She has spent most of her career caring for children. She has also worked at Heartlands Hospital and Walsall Manor Hospital. Brenda Taylor at the beginning of her nursing career and on her last day at SWB

“The team at SWB have been amazing,” she said. “When I started the job we immediately dealt with the pandemic which meant some of the team working from home so I didn’t know what they looked like and we were ‘meeting’ over Webex. “It was difficult but I am so proud of what we have achieved together, with the opening of CECU. We’ve had such great

Brenda added: “I have loved my nursing career – to me it’s not just been a job. I’ve always wanted to be a nurse from the age of four. All my family had been in the armed forces so there was always something about serving my country.” So what are her plans for the future? “I am looking forward to having more family time,” she told Heartbeat. “I will also be hoping to see family in Australia.” We’d like to wish Brenda a very happy and peaceful retirement.

Demetri Wade Group Director of Operations in Medicine and Emergency Care This month we introduce Demetri Wade who has recently been confirmed in his role as group director of operations in medicine and emergency care. The role will see him lead the operational delivery of patient care within the medicine and emergency care group.

within the group and SWB family very highly and consider the wellbeing, job satisfaction, development and contribution of all to be a primary focus of my role.” Demetri’s passion for high quality patient care is highlighted through his work on leading preparations for the Midland Met, he continued: “I am leading our preparations for MMUH with the group leadership team and plan to deliver this with the support of colleagues and the project team. MMUH presents the opportunity not only to improve the environment for our patients, but also optimise the way in which care is delivered. There are also exciting improvements for staff with a learning campus to provide training and development and the ability to work in a building designed for best practice care delivery.

Starting his NHS career clinically as a diagnostic radiographer, Demetri soon made the decision to pursue a future career in operational leadership. This is where his passion lies and he sought to more broadly influence the provision of high quality patient care and experience with a wellsupported team. Demetri said: “I have undertaken various clinical and operational roles and in addition to my current position have supplementary commitments with national regulators to improve care quality. This new role is wide ranging but in practice generally means putting the processes in place to ensure we have sufficient numbers of clinical staff, equipment and resources to support them, and governance and procedures for the specialities to provide services to patients.

Demetri Wade, Group Director of Operations in Medicine and Emergency Care

“As an operational leader with a clinical background I put patients at the centre of my decision making and manage the practical delivery of services alongside providing the best care possible. I value my team and all colleagues

“I am most looking forward to helping the group on its improvement journey and continuing to work with colleagues that are passionate about what they do and providing high quality care and experience for our patients.” Good luck in your role Demetri!

Wave goodbye to…

Janet Malin Medical Records Clerk information is recorded and stored accurately so our patient facing colleagues can access it at any time they need. Medical records has faced many changes throughout the years however the most revolutionary change the switch from paper based to electronic records. This change into the digital era had a massive impact on the way Janet worked. She said: “The biggest challenges were the numerous changes from the early days in the medical records department, which was run to a very strict physical paper regime unlike the now where almost everything is done through electronic tracking and are we are desk based for the majority of our work.” Throughout her over three decade career, Janet has had an array of formative career experiences from working in dermatology to working in children’s outpatients. “Working within a team setting has always been something I take much pride in but the most rewarding was helping and supporting patients’ relatives going through bereavement and dealing with coroners and undertakers in my role in the certificate office, during which time I was runner up for a hospitality award. “I also enjoyed my time in the children’s outpatient reception area, and I do occasionally see some of those now grown with children of their own. “In addition, one of the most humbling departments was dermatology. I would see people with complex skin conditions that would move me, and the strength to carry on was just amazing.” Fay Williams, Senior Team Leader in outpatients services and Janet’s team line manager believes Janet has been a real asset to the organisation. She said: “Janet has been an invaluable member of our team and it’s really only in the latter part of her years here that I have really gotten to know her.

Janet Malin retires after 37 years

After an illustrious 37 year career, Janet has officially processed her last medical record at the end of the month

however I was approached by a Mrs Enid Thomas to join the team and I couldn’t pass up on the fantastic opportunity.

Janet started with the Trust in the summer of July 1984 which was on record as one of the most thundery but warmer summers of the 80s.

“Back in those days the team was led by Mrs Thomas and the late Maureen Maskell who were phenomenal women in their own rights but more importantly taught you the importance of getting things right on a regular basis as without medical records, processes would not work as effectively for nurses and doctors resulting in poorer care for our patients.”

“I started working at the Trust which back then was known as the Dudley Road Hospital in mid-July 1984 in the medical record department,” said Janet. “I initially attended an interview for a temporary position at another hospital

Our medical records teams’ fundamental role is make sure that important patient

“She has a warm personality linked with mischievous fun, it has been an absolute delight to work with her I really will miss her and her fashion blogs. Enjoy your retirement, love and blessings to you.” Galvinder Kaur, Medical Records Clerk echoes these thoughts and said: “Congratulation’s Janet on your special milestone and secondly best of luck for your retirement. Wishing you all the best!” As part of her retirement, Janet is planning on spending more time with her parents and close friends and is hopeful to travel abroad once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.

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

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

YOUR RIGHT TO BE HEARD Wellbeing hour – clarification required Dear Heartbeat, Some of us just need some clarification on the wellbeing hour. Since it has been introduced from 22 June, most of the staff have had one hour back in total. We have been told its one hour a month, where I am sure I have read email saying it is an hour a week. Does this also include everyone who works on wards, ward clerks domestics and nurses etc. it has been a very tough 18 months mentally for everyone so hopefully everyone across the Trust can make the most of a wellbeing hour. Kind regards, Anon Dear Colleague, Thank you for getting in touch about wellbeing hour. You are correct in thinking that the wellbeing hour is intended to be one hour per week during the working week for colleagues to spend focused time on their wellbeing. It’s available to all colleagues regardless of your role or area of work. Within the wellbeing hour colleagues are encouraged to take time within the working day to focus on something that helps with wellbeing - this may be a learning and development activity, reading, walking, team discussion or accessing one of our many wellbeing options available in the Trust such as visiting the Sanctuary or Wellbeing hub. Your own team may have other suggestions as to what you would find beneficial. Wellbeing hours may be taken as a team (i.e. undertake a team based wellbeing activity for an hour) or individually and should be done at a time that best suits your service and as agreed with your manager. We recognise the impact that the pandemic has had on all colleagues so we encourage you to use this time to focus on things that help you improve and sustain your own and your team’s wellbeing. There are some Frequently Asked Questions available on Connect which you can refer to for further information. If you’re struggling to access the time for the wellbeing hour, I would encourage you to discuss this with your manager and, as a team, consider how best to make this work for yourselves and your service. Kind regards, Frances Jackson Human Resources Business Partner

Parking arrangements to reflect hybrid working? Dear Heartbeat, Most staff at SGH are aware that Q Parking are working on the new multi-storey carpark and colleagues working on site are encouraged to purchase a parking permit. Following investigation of the Q booking system, several staff have highlighted that the current options available for acquiring a permit do not reflect the changes to working patterns that many of us have experienced over the last 18 months. The current options for purchasing a permit is very similar to what has always been on offer: full time individual pass through direct debit or salary sacrifice, a car sharing permit, which covers staff who carpool to work together and agree to split the cost of the permit for the one vehicle, or an option for part time staff to pay a reduced fee (as long as they do not cross the allocated threshold of part-time hours). However, while we can agree that additional staff parking at SGH is much needed, shouldn’t there be more flexibility in the type of pass your purchase, to reflect the changing needs of our workforce? Throughout COVID staff have shown dedication, integrity and creativity in maintaining service delivery, despite facing challenges the NHS could never have imagined. In doing so, many of our teams have seen unexpected benefits of working from home, which has inspired many teams to strive for a hybrid working model as part of the “new normal”. So the big question is, as our workforce has adapted to a different pattern of working, shouldn’t the way we park adapt too? Some staff have suggested that there should be more options for parking permits. One such option could be ‘Team permits’, which would enable a team to purchase a permit that could be shared across vehicles within the team to accommodate split days working on site and from home. As an example, Team A would purchase 1 pass to share between the 5 team members as they each only come to the office one day a week (i.e. 5 office days needing a permit). After all the sacrifices our workforce has made throughout COVID, doesn’t it feel like this is an excellent opportunity to live the values of the new trust strategy and take on board staff feedback when making decisions that impact staff? Kind regards, Anon Dear colleague, Q-Park and The Trust are working closely together to offer parking on site that reflects the current need for car parking on site and the parameters laid out in the parking policy. We are due to offer a Daily Value Card (DVC) which will be communicated in the very near future. This will be charged at £3 per visit and is an option for the new flexible working hours you have mentioned. We also offer a car share permit already which can be shared amongst two members of staff and the

registration plate can be changed on the system depending on who is attending site that day. Staff working part-time hours (less than 20 hours per week) are able to receive reduced rates as in previous arrangements. The Trust has received notice from NHSE that colleague car parking charges will continue to be funded from the central budget until 31 March 2022. In order to assist Q-Park with administration of the car parks and permits to park, we must remind colleagues wanting to park on site that you still need to apply for the new car parking permit from Q-Park. Kind regards, Ross Badham Business Manager

Massages chairs – they are great but they feel wasted Dear Heartbeat, I have recently been on one of the wellbeing massage chairs and I must say kudos to the Trust for investing in these. My only complaint is more around the booking system for using it. Wouldn’t it be better if we could just go to the room and sit in there after a difficult shift rather than have to book in advance and only go on a certain day? Couldn’t it be run by inductions similar to the gym maybe. Something along the lines of you get an induction and are taught how to use the equipment and clean it down after use and if the trainer is happy they either get your card activated to you can enter the room in future to provide you with the combination code? It just seems such a waste that this fantastic equipment is limited to certain days and times and cannot be accessed straight after a hard days’ work more freely. Kind regards, Anon Dear colleague, Thank you for your feedback on the massage chairs located within the on-site wellbeing hubs. We are pleased to hear that our colleagues are finding them beneficial. I note your suggestion with regards to these being more readily accessible. At present, due to stringent infection control procedures in place and also to ensure equitable access we are operating a booking system but we are looking at ways to improve the accessibility of these services and for them to be available for most part of the week if not every day. The wellbeing team is working hard in the background to bring more activities and offers to our Trust colleagues in the near future. Valuable feedback from colleagues like yourself will continue to help us shape the future of wellbeing in the Trust. Kind regards, Masood Aga Clinical Director Occupational Medicine

Richard talks about: Our strategic direction Richard Beeken, Chief Executive

RICHARD'S LAST WORD Thank you to all who have congratulated me on my appointment as Chief Executive. The support I received from many of you before interview and after, has reaffirmed my decision to apply was right one. It is a huge privilege to lead any Trust in the NHS. I’ve had the opportunity to lead four Trusts (if my two months at Worcestershire count!). Without doubt, the raw ingredients of our Trust make this role the most exciting. What are those raw ingredients? •

Size and scale – there is a natural service resilience at SWB which can be further built upon, particularly in our planning for the Midland Met.

•

Strong, local staffing base and real loyalty to Trust and its services from those staff.

•

High quality clinical staff – we more than match larger, local Trusts for experienced and talented clinicians.

•

High quality clinical leaders – our clinical leaders, from all professions, are some of the best I’ve worked with.

•

High quality general managers – an increasingly unsung and unpopular role in the NHS, general managers have never been more needed and we have some real strength in this field.

•

A strong history of being embedded in local communities and serving them more than just through services - i.e. widening participation, live and work programme being great examples.

• A long standing commitment to integrating health and care, encapsulated in a clear and unequivocal vision. •

The Midland Met - no other Trust south of Liverpool has such a unique opportunity to occupy best in world facilities and redesign community and acute services to meet needs of people for next 20 years.

Despite those great raw ingredients we still need to continue baking the cake. The 2020 vision and associated plans are, by definition, very last year. We need to reassess our current baseline and agree a new strategy which will see us build on the MMUH care model and align our work to the post COVID-19, post white paper world. We have started to develop that strategy – three new strategic objectives have been

agreed and these were well received by colleagues at our leadership conference on 21 September: •

Patients – to be good or outstanding in everything we do (CQC domains and use of resources)

•

People – to cultivate and sustain happy, productive and engaged staff

•

Population – to work seamlessly with our partners to improve lives.

Over the next 12-18 months, we are going to have to prioritise some things so as to give you all clarity. It is clearly not enough to state that everything is a priority – I will leave that nonsense to politicians. So, for the avoidance of doubt, I see our priorities over the next 1218 months as: • Patients – to improve our delivery on the fundamentals of care. By doing this and evidencing improvement, we will assure ourselves that should the CQC come knocking, we will show we are an improving organisation on that critical responsibility – delivering the best quality care we can, within our finite resources

To work seamlessly with our partners to improve lives

•

People – recruitment, recruitment, recruitment – we must be bolder and more assertive and over-recruit where possible and appropriate. We must define what differentiates us from others in a highly competitive labour market

• Population – to lead on the development of locality based multi agency teams, all aimed at targeting risk assessed cohorts of our local residents, to better manage chronic disease, mental health and social care challenges with other organisations •

Midland Met – we need to get Midland Met done. To open it safely, to design best practice approaches to service delivery within it, to develop new clinical roles to work within it. The Midland Met is the single biggest lever we have to influence all three of the priorities above. We must not miss our opportunity.

End to end pathways but without the staff to do it

Collaboration but neglects fundamentals of care

Improve life chances and health outcomes

To be good or outstanding in everything we do

Better care but neglects wider determinants of health

To cultivate and sustain happy, productive and engaged staff

We need your help! Share your fundraising ideas with us YOUR TRUST CHARITY As the COVID-19 pandemic limited activities and events for charity fundraising over the past 18 months, we are looking forward to now welcoming more of a variety of fundraising ideas and activities into the mix as restrictions have eased. Now is the time to think about what we can do to fundraise for Your Trust Charity and in particular ahead of the opening of our brand new Midland Met

University Hospital. We’re looking for some fresh, quirky ideas to help make a difference. Maybe you have a particular skill, something you want to try, or a goal you’re aiming to achieve? Each donation to YTC, no matter how small, helps people close to our organisation and makes it a better place for those who use it. All it takes is an idea, some time, and the desire to make a difference to SWB and the future of Midland Met. If this is you, please do get in touch. Your Trust Charity needs your help.

 @SWBHCharity To donate to the Your Trust Charity text “SWBH16 £5” to 70070

Together we can make a difference. If you are interested in fundraising, you can get in contact at https:// www.swbh.nhs.uk/charity/fundraising or contact Amanda Winwood, Fundraising Manager at amanda. winwood@nhs.net or 0121 507 4847

Put on your Santa suit and challenge yourself to

Run, walk or cycle

Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust

to raise money for the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital appeal.

There are three distances to choose from all starting from our hospital sites and ending at the new super hospital building in Smethwick where participants will be able to enjoy some festive treats.

Date: Sunday 12th December 2021

Starting site: City Hospital Distance: 2km Starting site: Sandwell Hospital Distance: 5km Starting site: Rowley Regis Hospital Distance: 8km Suggested fundraising target: Adults £50 | Children £30

Entry is £20 adults | £10 child Includes a Santa suit.

Book now at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/173261859887 or contact Amanda Winwood on 0121 507 4847

September 2021 staff lottery results

half page_ run, walk or cycle poster.indd 1

1st £175.50

2nd £105.30

3rd £70.20

Anita Patel

Janet Evans

Sarah Cooke

23/09/2021 13:47

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