Monthly archives: January 2018

Digital Champions Training

Digital Champions training will provide around 450 staff with the skills necessary to be competent in Unity, our new electronic patient record, and so support others. The classroom elements of the training are conducted in 2 parts:

• Digital Champions Training Part 1 (Generic overview session with some ‘hands on’ participation) – half a day
• Digital Champions Training Part 2 (Role-specific classroom ‘hands on’ session) – two consecutive days

Part 1 will commence on 29th January 2018 for three weeks with multiple sessions arranged at City, Sandwell and Rowley Regis. Part 2 will commence on 5th February 2018 for six weeks, again sessions are available at City, Sandwell and Rowley Regis.

For more information, including the learning outcomes, please see the digital champion training page or contact Trust in Digital. If you have been asked to be a Digital Champion, please book soon as the courses are filling up.

Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 19 January 2018

Senior leaders from across the Trust have been on site this week with ex-Carillion staff working on the new hospital.  Toby has recorded a brief explanation of this week’s events.

On Monday we have, at City and Sheldon, another visit from the CQC to look at the pathway of care for particularly older patients.  This is part of a review across Birmingham of how the ‘system’ works.  I hope we can reflect with some pride on the work done to reduce delayed transfers of care, as well as the introduction of the ADAPT pathway, with a seven day social work model.  We would all recognise that there is far further to go, but I will reiterate that much of the remaining change we need to make is in how we work, as much as in how partners operate.  We are constantly looking to find the right models of partnership to advance the care of our patients, and we should see some publicity in coming days in the professional press for work we are doing now in Handsworth, and will do in future in Tipton, alongside the Modality GP partnership.

It will be obvious from this week’s news about Carillion, and specifically about our Midland Met hospital, that partnership working does mean one relies on others.  And that sometimes can create difficulty and risk.  As I wrote earlier in the week, and repeat in the film at the top of this message, our first thoughts must be with those people who worked for Carillion and who worked for sub-contractors, or were apprenticed through them.  Unemployment is a healthcare issue, which is why we do so much locally to try to bring people through into our workforce.  A secure job and home are the key determinants of health status.  The new hospital will be built, and when we open, I very much hope that the facilities and shops we include will help to create employment locally.  And more than that, that the creation of a new hospital stimulates ambition and aspiration in local school children to work within the NHS.  We have been hugely successful recently in recruiting to nursing roles, and have more than fifty student nurses joining our substantive workforce in coming days, but we certainly have more to do to make our Trust an employer of choice in estate trades or in IT, as well as in key clinical disciplines.

It will take a little time before we see cranes moving above the site.  Whilst there is understandable media focus on the level of “activity” on site today or tomorrow, my focus is on two things.  Firstly, making sure that the team leaders and site directors for the project remain in place, paid, and able to provide direction and leadership.  PwC have guaranteed such to the end of January but over coming days that needs to become a much more secure long term promise.  And secondly, on finding with Hospital Co a new contractor or managing agency to drive the project, backed by the right financing model to meet its costs.  We know we purchased the new hospital for a good price, driving a hard bargain as you would expect.  The risk created by the liquidation must not be a new cost on the local NHS.  You will appreciate that we want to keep you informed about what is going on, but also that some aspects of it are best discussed in private as the issues span organisations, and the funding is international in source.  At the foot of this message are some Q&A notes and I will do my best in the weeks ahead to bust rumours and keep you updated.  That said, our job and mission is healthcare not hospital construction and whilst the issues involved dominate the lives of a few of us, the life of the organisation must not be overshadowed by these matters.

Midland Met represents a new model of acute care.  It will bring to an end stretching resources across two locations.  It gives us a chance to create new teams and to offer better services.  But the building itself, and even being on a single site, does not guarantee that improvement.  So, if we have a little more time than we would like to move, let’s use that time to good effect to build the clinical model and the team working relationships to succeed when the new site opens in 2019, or even if need be in 2020.  Lots of colleagues have visited the site over the last year, and I would hope in fairly short order we can recommence that process of familiarisation.  Midland Met is not a symbol of corporate demise, or of PF2, but of future healthcare delivery and better outcomes and it is our actions, not anyone else’s, which will determine whether we fulfil the potential that the facility, which is two thirds finished, offers us for many years to come.

Questions and Answers – Midland Met Hospital – January 2018

#hellomynameis….Toby

News Update: CQC visit to City Hospital on Monday 22 January

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is undertaking a view of health and social care services across Birmingham and, as part of that review, they will be visiting some of our services on Monday. This is a new style review that looks at pathways across health and social care rather than focusing on a single organisation.

We expect CQC inspectors to be on site at City Hospital for most of the day and evening. Their focus is likely to be on the areas where our acute services and community services interact as well as our pathways with social care services. We expect that they will attend our acute assessment units, elderly care wards, ED, gastro / respiratory wards and our community wards at Sheldon. They could, of course, choose to go to anywhere on site.

If you see inspectors out and about on Monday, or if they visit your service, please do your best to make them feel welcome and answer their questions as openly and fully as you can. If you don’t know the answers to their questions please direct them to someone who can help.

Data requests from the CQC are being managed centrally, so if inspectors ask you for additional information please contact Sam Cattermole, Executive Assistant – Samantha.cattermole@nhs.net / ext 5536 – who will coordinate responses.

The inspection is a useful opportunity for us to share what works well and highlight our areas of good practice so that they can see how well we care for our patients and their families.

Pharmacy opening hours

In order to support patient flow, the opening times for pharmacy dispensaries over the next two weekends will be changing.

The dispensaries at both Sandwell and City Hospitals will be open from 10am – 3pm on Saturday 20, Sunday 22, Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 January.

Please ensure discharge prescriptions are completed as soon as possible and preferably sent to pharmacy by 1pm so they can be dispenced and delivered to wards.

Going forward, past January, pharmacy will be reviewing its weekend services to ensure they can support flow in a sustainable and cost effective manner.

Sickness Absence Management Training

These training sessions are for managers who manage sickness absence and will cover all aspects of the sickness absence policy including sickness reviews and triggers and creating and sending on line management referrals.  The next training session is on:

Tuesday 20 March, 9.30am to 12.30pm, Meeting Room 9, Education Centre, Sandwell General Hospital.

To book your place please contact Sue Day on 6680 or email sueday1@nhs.net

Places are limited so please book early.

HR – Frequently Asked Questions

Did you know you can find answers to a wide range of HR queries via the human resources page on Connect.

The Connect page provides a range of useful resources to empower colleagues and managers to find answers to general HR queries.

Please visit the frequently asked questions page where you will find answers to questions which you may not have been able to answer by viewing the relevant policy. Topics include:

• Annual leave
• Bank holidays
• Compassionate leave
• Employment breaks
• Flexible working
• Leaving the organisation
• Time off for appointments
• Unauthorised absence

This page is under constant development and additional topics will be added in due course.

The  page also contains a range of other useful resources, such as an annual leave calculator, family leave handbooks (e.g. maternity, paternity, adoption, parental leave, carer/compassionate leave etc.), as well as guidance and templates to assist with managing sickness absence.

Drayton Manor Park – SWBH Staff Corporate Discounts

Discounted rates for SWBH NHS Trust Employees:

£18.00 adult 12yrs+ (£39 on the gate)

£16.00 child 4-11yrs/60yrs+ (£29 on the gate)

£6.50 2-3yrs (£7 on the gate)

Under 2s – FREE

You will need to phone the call centre team on 0844 472 1950 24 hours in advance and quote SAND 2018 for the discounts to apply. Or alternatively, order your tickets by clicking here.

Terms and conditions

• Car parking is free of charge for 2018.
• The tickets will need to be paid for at the time of booking
• A maximum of 10 tickets can be purchased at any one time within 24 hours, this number must include the employee.
• Not valid on park buyout days or days that the park is closed, please check for open dates and times at www.draytonmanor.co.uk
• No child or children under the age of 12 will be admitted to the park unless they are accompanied by a paying adult who is over 18 years of age.
• Please bring your reservation number with you and proceed to any open ticket kiosk on arrival with your party. Employees must show their employee ID/membership card or payment card to the attendant with tickets to gain entry into the park.
• As part of the scheme employees are also entitled to a 20% discount at The Grill Inn restaurant at the park. This offer is available now to download at www.draytonmanor.co.uk/pas
• Please note that this offer may change throughout the season.
• Please visit www.draytonmanor.co.uk for daily prices and opening times.
• Please note that this offer is only valid from 28^th March 2018 until 4^th November 2018.
• Management reserves the right to amend or update any of the above without prior notice.

*Calls to this number are charged at 7 pence per minute service charge, for the access charge please refer to your phone provider.

Educational meeting – ‘how to ensure effective communication’

This second session of ‘how to ensure effective communication’ will be delivered by Dr Julian Chilvers who will discuss effective appraisals and cover the following:

• Context of appraisals within education as per guidance from GMC/BMA
• Provide an overview of undergraduate and postgraduate appraisal requirements in the UK
• Importance of educational appraisals as part of overall performance review
• Evidence of teaching that may be used within appraisal to demonstrate competence
• The role of workplace based assessments / supervised learning events to guide trainee appraisals
• How to prepare for an appraisal
• How to provide targeted educational supervision.

The session will be held in the Postgraduate Centre at City Hospital on Monday 22 January, 12.30pm start.

Road closure and diversion (West Bromwich M5 J1)

Following a burst water main and the anticipated dip in temperature it has become necessary  to close Birmingham Road, West Bromwich between the M5 jct1 roundabout and Roebuck Street (westbound towards West Bromwich ONLY).

It is anticipated that the road will close at 8.00pm this evening and will remain closed until Saturday (20 January) time to be confirmed.

Westbound traffic that would normally be able to enter West Bromwich from the motorway island will instead need to use the diversion

• via A41 Expressway
• around the All Saints Way roundabout (Tesco roundabout)
• then back towards the motorway on the A41 Expressway
• then take the slip road onto Trinity Way.

Win £100 of high street shopping vouchers

It’s that time of year again when we ask you to spare a few minutes and complete the annual travel survey. The travel survey is an important part of the way the Trust will plan for future transport needs, so make sure your opinion counts.  To complete the five minute survey, please click on the link below and follow the instructions.  The closing date for the survey is Friday 2 February 2018.

https://starsfor.org/surveys/1027

Everyone who completes the survey will be entered into a draw for £100 high street shopping vouchers. For more information on cycling and walking (including information on cycle parking, maps, pool bikes, electric vehicle charging, cycle to work scheme), see our travel to work guide: http://myconnect.swbh.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Travel-to-Work-Guide-FINAL.pdf 

If you are unable to complete the survey online, paper copies are available.

If you have any queries regarding this or any other questions about sustainable travel, please contact Fran Silcocks on francesca.silcocks@nhs.net (Sustainability Officer).