Monthly archives: December 2017

Free Pilates class at Sandwell

Take charge of your own health and wellbeing with a pilates class  in the conference hall in the Education Centre at Sandwell Hospital,

9 January at 4.45pm

16 January at 4.45pm

23 January at 4.45pm

30 January at 4.45pm

6 February at 4.45pm

13 February at 4.45pm

Work on improving muscle  tone and strength, postural alignment and balance in a calm and relaxing environment. Suitable for all levels of ability and experience.

For bookings please contact Jatinder Sekhon on Ext 3854/3306.

Can you locate our missing Christmas angel?

The angel from the nativity scene at Sandwell Hospital has gone missing. 

It is possible that a relative has borrowed it to put beside a patient’s bed. If you see it anywhere, please contact Rev. Mary Causer on extension 3552. 

Diabetes accredited ward

Could you be a diabetes accredited ward?

In order to be accredited you need to fulfil the below criteria:

• Hypo box should be present in resuscitation trolley and checked daily
• Minimum of one trained think glucose champion
• 90 per cent or more colleagues completed ‘six steps to insulin safety’ online module
• Hypoglycaemia and insulin error reduction demonstrated from regular audits

Audit will commence on 15 January and will last for three months. 

Dump the junk

Do you have any old furniture that’s no longer needed? Is there furniture cramping up your store room? Or do you just want to have a new year clear out?

Well we are here to help you as our ‘dump the junk’ project is here again.

City Hospital 15 to 19 January 7am-3pm

Sandwell Hospital 22 to 26 January 7am-3pm        

If you have any unwanted items please call 5083 with the following information:

• Your name, department and contact details
• What needs moving? Be specific so we can ensure all items are collected.
• Are the furnishings condemned or reusable
• What’s the location of the items
• Do you have any restricted availability times?

Items will be collected on the dates above. Please be advised you cannot book specific collection times but we will do our best to accommodate.

Thank you from the homeless patient team

Thank you to all colleagues who have donated items for our homeless patients this year. Donations of food, toiletries and clothing really make a difference to the patients and your donations are very much appreciated. 

Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 22 December 2017

You will have seen in today’s bulletin arrangements for getting food over the Christmas and New Year period. Free breakfasts are available to people working on 25 December. A tiny gesture, but one that reflects gratitude to those people away from family and friends over the period. Thank you for your efforts for our patients. With bank holidays falling extensively this year over two weekends, it is going to be a long period of some “downtime” in our own services and those of others’. I hope we are better prepared than ever before for that challenge, both inside the Trust and with all the appointments now available to local people in general practice. After three years effort we can now book GP appointments from our sites for patients in key areas, which should help us all to join up as a system.

Supporting patient discharges over Christmas and the New Year

Thank you all for your hard work over the festive period. Listed below are some key focus areas where we are committed to ensuring ongoing support to progress patient care through Christmas and the New Year.

Phlebotomy clinic weekend and bank holidays – supporting early discharge to track patients’ blood count and continue treatment at home  (New)

To book appointments for City, bleep 5289 and for Sandwell, telephone 2655. The shift co-ordinator on AMU  will allocate a HCA to each request and give an expected time of arrival to the ward. Patient pathways will then be managed by the on call teams or referring clinician.

Directly bookable GP appointments are available daily to support both admission avoidance and discharge (New)

To book an appointment to support discharge, the patient’s details can be taken to ED or AMU reception.  Alternatively, ED reception can book appointments over the telephone on ext. 4472 at City and 2400 at Sandwell. Primary Care have made a permanent increase of GP appointments 7 days a week with the exception of bank holidays.

Pharmacy and TTO dispensing – 7 days a week

On weekends and Bank Holidays the on call Pharmacists will  either remain on site or come back on each acute site to dispense TTOs after the completion of ward rounds.  This is coordinated between 2-3pm with the Senior Capacity Manager on extension 4880.

Social Services – on site daily

Social services are on site 7 days a week with the exception of Christmas day when the duty social worker is available. 

If you have any issues that you need support with  please contact the Senior Capacity Manager extension 4880

Homeless Patient Pathway for City, Sandwell, Rowley Regis Hospitals Christmas and New Year Cover

There will be no homeless hospital cover from Monday 25 December 2017 till Monday 1 January 2018.
Normal service will resume on Tuesday 2 January 2018.

However help is at hand, Birmingham 24 Hour Christmas Shelter for the Homeless will open at 10am on 23 December 2017 and will remain open 24 hours a day until 10am on 27 December 2017 – all are welcome!

They will provide food, warmth, shelter and companionship to homeless and lonely people in the Birmingham area, over the Christmas period.

This is located at:- St George’s Hub, Great Hampton Row, Newtown, Birmingham, B19 3JG.

After this date homeless patients can be signposted to SIFA Fireside (Homeless Hub) at 48-52 Allcock Street, Digbeth, B9 6HA.

Rough Sleepers Team can also be contacted on: 07483 981912.

The Homeless Patient Pathway would like to take this opportunity to wish all our colleagues at City, Sandwell and Rowley Regis Hospitals a very Merry Xmas and Happy New Year.

Thank you for your continued support!
Helen Taylor & Louise Edwards – Homeless Team

Your Trust Charity Christmas Cheer – Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Each day in the lead up to Christmas, we will be taking a look back at some of the Your Trust Charity highlights from this year.

“Thanks to the Fibroscan service, I was immediately reassured that I only had mild liver damage. That was a moment I will never forget and I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude.”

We know that patients like Damian who encounter liver problems become understandably concerned about their long-term health. In many cases, a liver biopsy is required. Thanks to a £40,000 charitable grant, the SWBH Gastroenterology & Liver team purchased a Fibroscan machine, which assesses liver damage without any needles, pain, or risk. This helps Damian, and many others, to effectively manage their condition.

If you would like more information on fundraising or supporting the various projects, appeals and charitable funds, please contact Amanda.winwood@nhs.net or call 0121 507 5196.

Ward changes – D27 & FSW

Ward D27 will be moving to D17 and FSW (currently on D17) will be moving to D27 on Thursday 28 December.
The move will facilitate co-location of Gynaecology in-patients with the Emergency Gynae Assessment Unit.

If you have any queries regarding the ward changes, please contact Lis Hesk on ext. 5727.