Monthly archives: July 2018
Unity targeted coaching programme: week three – care rounding
Today, week three of the new Unity targeted coaching programme gets underway with the theme being care rounding.
The clinical informatics team will be out and about meeting colleagues across our sites and delivering short five minute one-to-one micro-coaching sessions to ensure that our clinical colleagues are prepared for when Unity goes live later this year. The team have so far delivered coaching to over 300 colleagues since the programme started on 16 July.
The coaching programme will run for 15 weeks in total. It is critical to stress that this is not a training programme and is not a replacement for the formal end user training which is a requirement for all colleagues (including those that have already undertaken digital champion and/or early adopter training).
The clinical informatics team will endeavour to avoid causing any disruption to ward routines and have written to ward managers to allow team members the time to participate in these sessions and start to get familiar with Unity.
For further information email swbh.informaticsnurses@nhs.net
Occupational health and wellbeing department closed – 31 July
The occupational health and wellbeing department will be closed on Tuesday 31 July for their annual team building event.
If you sustain a sharp/splash injury, please go to A&E for treatment and report the incident to occupational health the following day by calling 507 3306.
For more information please contact swbh.ohreferrals@nhs.net.
Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 27 July
Thank you to everyone who nominated someone in our Star Awards 2018. The biggest roll call of nominations ever, as we topped 500. The shortlists come out next week with Heartbeat. As you know four awards are voted for by you, and one by our patients, so get ready to consider who will get your vote for our three teams of the year – non-clinical, clinical (adult), and clinical (children), along with our coveted employee of the year award. Payslips come with Heartbeat (although later this year pay slips will go electronic only) and with pay slips come stage one of the national pay award. Stage two (back pay for April-June) comes in August. This phasing is national policy. The Trust intends to maintain our commitment to the Living Wage, and will continue to pay a premium to our lowest paid employees. This is not national policy and is a reflection of our values and beliefs.
This week a new “house” joined us, with FY1s (PRHOs in old money) coming on site. Next week we see new joiners at other training grades among junior doctors. We are immensely lucky in our Trust, though by design not accident, to have a fine tradition of medical education, learning and simulation. David Carruthers’ appointment as our medical director owed much to his impressive drive to help deliver that success over many years. It is no surprise therefore that our approach to the quality plan for the Trust will aim to use the passion, time, ideas and intelligence of doctors in training to initiate, audit and drive quality projects which can improve care – starting with VTE and with sepsis. And if by now you do not know that sepsis is this organisation’s number one quality priority this year, then maybe the heat is getting to you.
This week also sees the legal case between Hadiza Bawa Garba and the general medical council. David Nichol, our neurology lead, who has been active, alongside many others, is raising awareness of the issues from this sad situation. And the national news media will rightly cover an important decision about organisational vs. individual responsibility, and about how professionals are best regulated. As a Trust leadership we are clear that learning and developmental reflection, in any profession, must be protected in order to encourage any of us to be open about our mistakes, fears and understandings. We have made one step recently which reflects on the case. Any incoming temporary trainee doctor undertaking a shift now has a very clear induction model which necessitates them talking to those they are working with, and contacting their supervising senior staff member (usually a consultant) to agree expectations. This is an intentional act to make sure that colleagues unfamiliar with our Trust feel welcome and understand how we do things round here. Every consultant with whom I have spoken is clear that they want to hear from those working for them, and there must be no bars, real or imagined, to asking for help or advice. That is why the upcoming A&E trainee rota will put more junior doctors onto our sites at night, because we have heard the anxieties voiced by trainees about risk and isolation.
Over the term that the incoming trainee doctors are with us, they, and everyone, will see much change. Paper will largely disappear from clinical practice. Not only will Unity replace handwriting, and EPMA replace paper medicines’ scripts, but introducing Unity will reduce duplication of processes. Over the last fortnight I have spent much time with clinicians in ED and medicine, and it is clear there, and elsewhere, that we have clerking and assessment processes where we have not relied on each other, but instead restarted information gathering. In services where time is precious, we need to begin to change and to trust, and introducing electronic data collection will help us to operate as one team. Of course, that means that the legal framework of responsibility for clinicians must reflect team work as well as individual roles. I know only too well, and I again attach our performance data, that we have a way to go with IT resilience (this week has been our best in six for downtime). Nonetheless, Unity training is now open for bookings and runs from August 13th to October 26th. Please book in! You cannot use the “play domain” until you have done your training.
The dispute between the last Secretary of State and doctors in training gave rise to some gains. One of those was much clearer arrangements to support whistleblowing and hours monitoring among trainees. We have taken these very seriously in the Trust, and our Guardians have worked to hear the voice of trainees and advocate and problem solve with them. At the same time the Trust was a first adopter in having a Chief Resident as a representative and management leader for trainees working here. Whilst recognising those special differences, we want to make sure that trainees use Trust-wide systems, especially our IR1 system to raise concerns. My message to FY1s on Wednesday was this: Speak up, you will be heard and listened to. You bring a new pair of eyes so be sceptical when told that we have always done it this way and nothing can change. It can and does and must and will. Just because something was “like that in my day” does not mean it is the right way now and we should always hear the voices of those bringing fresh ideas and insights about how we can improve.
Finally, whilst no part of our Trust has a veto over change, increasingly as we adopt changes in practice, there will be a ‘hard stop test’ to confirm that FY1s, FY2s and registrars have been involved in designing any changes which alter how they work. Right now we are finalising altered arrangements for how specialties work alongside ED. In September we will make some pretty major changes to where and who sees patients. We have tried this several times in the past five years. This time needs to be different and part of that will be how we involve those whose working practices are altered as we look to improve care, and improve the experience of working here. Nuhu Usman, David Carruthers and Rachel Barlow are leading this particular project.
The cricket team is announced early next week, so last bids today direct to me, for the coveted chance to play on Sunday August 12th. We work alongside, and rely on, primary care. But this is a chance to express some healthy competition as we look to win the Midland Met Cup for the fourth time in five years, assuming the rain stays away.
#hellomynameis….Toby
Heartbeat: Chan gets the chop for charity
In Heartbeat last month we brought you the story of Chan, one of our audiologists who was raising money for our neonatal unit through Your Trust Charity, by cutting his hair and beard which he had been growing for over 15 months.
On the 11 July, Chan was welcomed in The Gentleman Barbers in Brindley Place where his friend and barber, Damian Wasniak was waiting with clippers and cut throat razors at the ready to tackle the growing beard and barnet to complete Chan’s makeover.
Chan initially aimed to raise £1000 but with the support of family and friends managed to double this to an amazing £2295.
Chan’s first child, Chayten was born prematurely and spent the first four months of his life in the care of the neonatal team at City hospital.
Chan said: “When Chayten was born, it was the most stressful and worrying time of our lives and it was our faith in God that kept us going. It was during this time that I began growing my hair and beard in honour of my son.
“Now that Chayten is 15 months, I thought what better way to mark the occasion than by having it a shaved off for charity and donate all of the money raised to the Neonatal department”
Since losing the locks and regaining his youthful looks Chan continues to raise money for Your Trust Charity and would like to encourage colleagues who would like to donate or help raise further funds to get in touch.
If you would like to take on a challenge to help raise some much needed funds for a worthy cause, get in touch with Your Trust Charity on ext. 4847 or email Amanda.winwood@nhs.net
Maths and English courses available for colleagues from September
Starting in September, colleagues will have the opportunity to gain maths and English qualifications at Sandwell Hospital via Halesowen College.
Please attend the following drop-in information and assessment session to find out more and express your interest.
- Wednesday 5 September: 1pm–4pm, room 11, Education centre, Sandwell Hospital.
For more information please contact bimladevi@nhs.net
Disability Awareness Month
July is Disability Awareness Month. During this month the SWBH Disability and Long Term Conditions Staff Network want to take the opportunity to highlight people with a disability or long term conditions who haven’t let their disability or long term condition stop them from being successful.
Today we look at Wilma Rudolph who contracted infantile paralysis (caused by the polio virus) at the age of four. She recovered from polio, but lost strength in her left leg and foot, wearing a leg brace until she was eight years old. Undeterred she went on to become an accomplished sprinter and was the first American woman, and African-American woman, to win three gold medals in one Olympic Games.
Disability and Long Term Conditions Staff Network drop-in session
As part of the Disability and Long Term Conditions Awareness Month the DLTC Staff Network are holding a drop-in session to promote and raise awareness of the network on the following date:
- 31 July, 12pm–2pm: Rowley Regis Hospital foyer
For more information please contact stuartyoung1@nhs.net.
Ensure you’re following Trust linen policy
Our linen provider Berendsen Healthcare have contacted us expressing concern in relation to an increase in the number of incidents involving unexpected objects and items being received along with soiled linen. This includes needles and other medical objects.
As a result they’re seeing a significant increase in the number of accidents and serious near misses where their colleagues have been injured or narrowly avoid injury.
This is predominantly related to scrub suits but has also occurred in other linen.
We need to raise awareness of the requirement of all colleagues that are involved in handling used and soiled linen of the importance of the care that needs to be taken to avoid this and follow the Trust Linen policy. The policy can be accessed by clicking the link below.
For more information please contact audrey.hender@nhs.net
No acute pain cover for wards at City and Sandwell
There will be no acute pain cover at City Hospital on Wednesday 25 July, Thursday 26 July or Friday 27 July. For urgent issues please contact the on call anaesthetist at City on bleep 5306.
There will also be no acute pain cover at Sandwell Hospital on the afternoon of Friday 27 July. For urgent issues please contact the on call anaesthetist at Sandwell on bleep 6305.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Pay increase included this month
Following the announcement on the national NHS pay increase earlier this year, we are pleased to confirm that the increase will be included in your July pay. Backdated pay for April, May and June will be included in August.
You can find further information about your individual pay journey over the new few years by clicking on this link: https://www.nhsemployers.org/your-workforce/2018-contract-refresh/pay-journey-tool
View your payslip online
Later this year, paper payslips will be ceasing so it is important that you register for ESR as soon as you can.
If you don’t yet have a username and password for ESR please follow the following steps:
To access ESR via Connect please take the following steps:
- Select corporate systems
- Select ESR Portal
- Click forgotten username or password
- The login assistance screen will be displayed
- Enter your email address and click ‘forgot user name.’ You will then receive an email containing your username
- Enter username and click ‘forgot password.’ You will then receive an email with a link to reset the password.
To access your payslip, simply log in using your username or your smartcard (if an existing user) and go to ‘My Payslip’ which you will see in the right hand corner of the page. A direct link to you most recent payslip will appear below.
You can also access archive payslips by clicking on ‘View My Payslips’ and selecting the year and month of the one you wish to view.
IMPORTANT: Please note you will need an NHS mail account in order to register for ESR self-service. If you do not have one, please contact the IT service desk on extension 4050.
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