Monthly archives: May 2018

Disruption to traffic on Hallam Street and adjoining roads

Further to previous messages, Cadent Gas Limited are carrying out essential gas work on Hallam Street that is planned to last approximately 39 weeks.

Phase 2 of the works will run up until 4 June. A 3-way temporary traffic light system will be placed at the junction of Church Vale and Vale Street.

Thank you in advance for your understanding and patience during this major work project.

MECC referral incentive for Trust colleagues

Making Every Contact Count (MECC) referral rates have dropped significantly over the past months.

These are hospital referrals in regards to alcohol, weight loss, exercise and smoking cessation support.

Lisa Mallen, Alcohol Nurse and MECC lead along with the SWBH Alcohol Team will be spending time at City emergency department delivering short teaching sessions on the referral process and the importance of this for the Trust and patient wellbeing.

To promote our first month in City ED, a colleague responsible for the most referrals will receive a prize at the end of the month.

For more information please contact SWBH Alcohol Team on ext. 5074.

Your Voice Survey – You Said We Did

The Your Voice survey gives you a greater say in decision making, changes that affect you and is also a great way of getting your ideas heard. As we lead up to the launch of the next Your Voice survey at the end of January we will share some of the feedback received for the last survey and the responses in the form of ‘You Said We Did’. Your feedback is important and tells managers and leaders about what it is like to work here and what can be improved.

You Said: Senior executive staff need to be more visible in departments.

We Did: The executive and non-executive directors usually have a walkabout after each monthly board meeting. You can also make a request for a member of the executive team to visit your department by emailing the communications team at swbh.comms@nhs.net

You Said: There needs to be better signage across the sites as patients often get lost.

We Did: Our volunteering service continues to recruit a huge number of volunteers who have a wayfinding role at key points across our sites. In addition, we will be taking a new approach to consistent signage as we move towards the opening of the Midland Metropolitan Hospital.

Disability and long term conditions network meeting

The next meeting of the disability and long term conditions staff network takes place on Wednesday.

Date:        16 May
Time:        10am -12noon
Venue:      Post Graduate Centre Dining Room, City Hospital

All colleagues are welcome to attend regardless of whether they have a disability or long term condition, there will be free chocolate!

For more information please contact richard.burnell@nhs.net

Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 11 May

Rachel Barlow, Chief Operating Officer. Toby Lewis is away.

This week we have been celebrating Nurses’ Day, an opportunity to recognise the contribution of our nursing colleagues to patient care and experience and reflect on how nursing roles have developed over time. As a former nurse, I know just how central the nursing profession is to everything we do here and what really makes the difference is the way at our Trust we are learning to work across perceived professional boundaries to provide truly multi professional, integrated care.

Our new chief nurse, Paula Gardner, was at the forefront of our celebrations this week and in this short film at the top of my message you can hear Paula’s views on Nurses’ Day as well as her first impressions of our Trust. Paula has been out and about over the past few weeks meeting as many colleagues as possible and if you have not yet had the chance to meet her do come along to a couple of sessions taking place during May – open to all colleagues. Details here

The first of Paula’s meet and greet sessions is taking place on Wednesday 16 May which is our second Speak Up Day. Paula will be talking about her own experiences of speaking up in other organisations. Like the first Speak Up Day we held in September we want to use the day to raise awareness of the different ways that you can raise a concern about safety at work. These include speaking to your manager, raising an incident, talking to a Trade Union colleague or one of our nine Freedom to Speak Up Guardians. On Wednesday our Guardians will be out hosting awareness stands at Rowley, Sandwell and City and holding confidential “surgeries”  – a great opportunity to speak to a Guardian about a concern you may have but you’re not quite sure what to do about it. The Guardians are there to help you, so please take that opportunity.

We’d also like you to fill in a short survey so we can assess how willing our Trust appears to be at listening to, and resolving, concerns. Thank you in advance for you involvement in Wednesday’s activities.

At the Trust Board last week we were privileged to hear the story of the partner of someone who was struggling with alcoholism and who was greatly supported by Sally Bradberry and the alcohol team. The patient’s family were overwhelmed by the treatment and care that was provided and certain that this Trust’s actions had not saved her partners life but enabled her partner to successfully work full time and enhanced the quality of their family life. As well as the praise and thanks the service received, it was hard to hear about her experiences of trying to get the help that her family needed, much of which is delivered by and with other partners. As a Board we committed to accelerating our discussions with partners about these services so that we can better support our patients and their families in these difficult circumstances. It is only by cutting through these organisational boundaries, much as we are doing with professional boundaries, that we will be able to provide truly integrated care.

As the weekend approaches we continue to address the needs of the patients we expect to be admitted and whether we have the right beds available for them. Over the last bank holiday weekend we were able to keep patients largely in the right place to receive the best care without the need to care for patients in “extra” beds.  Importantly through work led by Claire Hubbard Director of Nursing for Medicine with clinical teams and the capacity team, we are becoming much better at admitting patients to the right beds to be cared for by the most appropriate clinical ward team and each week look at that data to ensure we can sustain that improvement.  This week has been busy after the bank holiday and as we prepare for the weekend. I want to thank all the colleagues who have worked hard to discharge patients safely when needed and for the work over the weekend and into next week to ensure that we continue to provide safe care in the right place.

A big part of our ability to provide safe care is in ensuring we have the substantive teams in place – huge improvements have been made on that front, particularly in filling nursing vacancies. I was delighted that the recruitment efforts of nursing and HR colleagues were recognised by NHS Improvement this week in the new bulletins – we are truly leading the way in this area – there is more to do but we are showing that we can make a difference and other Trusts are learning from our approach.

Thank you to all our nurses this weekend! Enjoy Nurses’ Day on 12 May and do share your stories #ThisNurse

#hellomynameis….Rachel 

New breakfast bar menus at Hallam Restaurant and Coffee Culture

There are breakfast menus available at both Hallam Restaurant and Coffee Culture.

Hallam Restaurant breakfast bar menu

Coffee Culture breakfast bar menu

Breakfast is available at both locations, Monday – Friday, 7.30am-11.30am,

Induction Study Day: Cardiology – 21 May

We will be hosting a induction study day about cardiology open to all colleagues in the Anne Gibson Board Room at City Hospital on Monday 21 May at 9am-4pm.

Topics which will be covered at the study day include:

• Anatomy and physiology of the heart
• The conduction system
• Sinus rhythm and common arrhythmias
• Recording a 12 lead ECG
• ECG interpretation
• Acute coronary syndromes
• Cardiac drugs
• Introduction to advanced life support

To attend, please contact Laura Taylor on ext. 4984.

For more information please contact laura.fitzgerald1@nhs.net

GDPR is coming: Guidance, mythbusters and updates

As you’re all aware, GDPR is coming. GDPR is a replacement law for the Data Protection Act called the General Data Protection Regulation.

Over the next few weeks we will be releasing regular guidance, mythbusters and updates on GDPR and the organisations position.

Guidance #1 Access to Records (subject access requests):

Anyone can request copies of their personal information from us and if we hold this information we have to release it.

Under GDPR the time we have to respond to these requests has now decreased from 40 days to 30 days, and we are no longer allowed to charge for the majority of requests.

Colleagues need to be aware that if you receive a request from a patient or third party for access to health records or other personal information this must be forwarded immediately upon receipt to the following:

• For anyone (this can include solicitors / staff / patients / 3rd parties) who are requesting access to medical information / records email swb-tr.SWBHRecordsRequests@nhs.net
• For anyone (this can include staff / solicitors / 3rd parties) who is requesting access to their personal information (e.g. personnel files, investigation paperwork, pay details) email IGovernance@nhs.net
• Colleagues have the right (under SWBH policies) to request to view their personnel file via their line managers if they wish to do so.

It is important that requests are forwarded immediately so that they can be logged and reviewed.

If you are unsure please call or email the information governance team on 0121 507 4681 or the governance support unit on 0121 507 5836.

Clinical trials day – 18 May

Are you interested in medical research? Do you want to find out more about the various clinical trials that we are currently participating in?

Then come along to one of many research and development stands that will be located at City and Sandwell Hospitals on Friday 18 May to mark Clinical Trials Day.

Our City stands will be located within the research and development department, the Birmingham Treatment Centre, Rheumatology, ground floor reception of the Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre and within the antenatal/ultrasound screening area of Maternity.

Our Sandwell stand will be located in main reception from 10.30am-2.30pm.

Colleagues will be on hand to explain the importance of trials and how results of research shapes the future of patient care. They will tell you about the various studies that are currently ongoing, so that you can consider whether certain patients you see meet the criteria to join a trial.

Clinical Trials Day helps raise awareness and honours clinical research professionals by recognising their contributions to public health and medical progress.

Dying Matters Awareness Week

Palliative Medicine consultant, Anna Lock is organising a variety of events as part of Dying Matters Awareness Week which starts on Monday.

Activities include:

• The Many Doors of Frank Feelbad (a five course-feast suitable for young people which encourages conversation about death and dying): The Library of Birmingham, Saturday 12 May
• Palliative Care nurse drop in: Outpatients department, Sandwell Hospital, Tuesday 15 May, 10am-2pm
• Palliative Care nurse drop in: Main reception area, Rowley Regis Hospital, Thursday 17 May, 10am-2pm.

For more information regarding any of these activities, please contact anna.lock@nhs.net