Monthly archives: September 2018

Heartbeat: Developing high potential within our organisation

Now that the first round of the new aspiring to excellence personal development reviews have been completed and colleagues have had an opportunity to think about their roles and responsibilities, Heartbeat caught up with Deputy Director of Learning and Development, Bethan Downing to find out what our organisation is going to implement to support high performing colleagues.

Bethan said: “We have made a significant investment recently in not simply focusing our efforts on recruiting great staff in to our organisation, but to identify those colleagues who have been performing well and are showing potential to develop.

“As an organisation, we are passionate about making sure that colleagues have opportunities to learn and develop, whether that is through development opportunities like shadowing and coaching or access to development secondments and further training.”

During TeamTalk in July, colleagues were asked to think about what the offer should be to those employees who are performing highest.

“The feedback from TeamTalk indicated that development opportunities was the number one preference for our highest performing employees,” said Bethan.

“Therefore, those who score 4A in their PDR will have an individualised development plan, which is tracked by our organisation as a commitment to them to ensure they have access to development opportunities.

“Part of that development may be the recently launched nurse escalator programme, which offers our high performing and high potential nurses the opportunity to grow their knowledge and experience in areas they feel passionate about, this may be either clinical development or development into managerial roles.”

Bethan added: “The possibilities for development are exciting and diverse and we are committed to supporting our colleagues to meet their fullest potential.

“We are not offering a single, one size fits all approach to how we go about this, each and every colleague will have had a discussion with their manager at their PDR to agree their personal development plan for the year ahead and this discussion should be kept live and opportunities taken as they become available.

“Development within our departments is also important to ensure succession opportunities are available and that our employees feel developed to succeed in future roles as well as their current role.

“We see colleagues who work over and above to deliver amazing care and whilst we are keen for them to develop, we are also keen for all employees who want to develop to be given opportunity to grow with our organisation, to be part of something special and be proud to themselves and the organisation they work for.”

If you are keen to find out more about what the Trust has to offer to help you develop, contact Bethan Downing on email: Bethan.downing1@nhs.net

Neurophysiology cake and savouries fundraiser

The Neurophysiology department are hosting a cake and savouries fundraiser on September 12 to raise vital funds for Your Trust Charity.

They will be hosting the cake and savouries fundraising event on the 2nd floor of the main spine of City Hospital from 10am-2pm.

Note: For ease of access, it’s advised you take the lift near Arches to reach the 2nd floor of the main spine of City Hospital.   

For more information please call ext. 6553.

Unity end user training has started – are you booked yet?

Unity end user training has now started and managers are being urged to book their teams onto the appropriate training course as soon as possible.

Some colleagues have already taken part in the training and we’ve received some fantastic feedback including:

Principal Physio – Frail Elderly and Medicine, Suzanne Miles: “The training has been a really helpful refresher on how the system works. It has been a logical and easy to follow set of training that has given me a lot of confidence ahead of go-live.”

Rotational Physiotherapist, Tom Mahoney: “The training has been really good. The more you get exposed to Unity the more used to it you get.”

Senior Occupational Therapist, Joanna O’Donoghue: “I was anxious about coming on the training, but now that I’ve seen how Unity works I’m not so worried.”

Unity end user training will be delivered by role, in 24 different courses, see the course content brochure for more information. Courses will run over multiple dates until 26 October at Sandwell, City and Rowley hospitals.

Follow the link to see the dates available for each course https://connect2.swbh.nhs.uk/trustindigital/unity/unity-training/unity-end-user-training/. There is a ‘how to book Unity training’ guide available too for your reference.

If you would like a member of the Unity team to come to your area to assist with the booking of your staff, please contact swbh.informaticsbookings@nhs.net giving availability and a contact number and arrangements will be made at a suitable time for you. The team will also help with any queries regarding the training and the booking system.

CQC inspectors return today to visit Maternity and Children’s Services

Dear colleague,

Today we welcome inspectors from the CQC to our Children’s Services and Maternity.

Thank you to all colleagues who have already welcomed the CQC inspectors to the Trust, and attended focus groups to share your experiences with the CQC and celebrate the quality of care we deliver. Many colleagues have talked to the CQC about their worries, and solutions, and reflected with colleagues on the improvements we are making, for example of medicine consistency of care and in BMEC.

The inspection team are doing unannounced visits today and this week on both Sandwell and City sites, to inspect our children’s, maternity and neonates services. This will include all services we offer to children including BMEC, remembering that 1 in 6 of our patients is a child. That means that they will be with us, night and day. I know that you will welcome the inspectors and help them, whilst maintaining patient confidentiality and making sure practices like bare-below-elbow standards are observed, by all of us, and by our CQC visitors.

We all know the NHS is working under sustained pressure. We spent over £1m on training last year and will do the same this year. We have invested in extra staffing, got decent modern imaging kit with our MES, achieved baby friendly accreditation and created child friendly environments in our ward and waiting areas (remember the Shetland pony visits and children driving cars to procedure rooms). We have every reason to compare well to others. Let’s stand up for our successes and show our best side, whilst being open about what’s left to do and fix.

The attached staff guide to inspections (PDF) provides some helpful information, please share with colleagues.

I wish you luck in the coming days as you share your experiences with the CQC whilst continuing to deliver fantastic care to our patients. Thank you for your continued hard work and passion for great quality care.

Best wishes

Raffaela Goodby, Executive Director of People & Organisation Development

(acting Chief Executive whilst Toby Lewis is on leave)

One4Every1 – support Your Trust Charity

Your Trust Charity supports vital services for over 530,000 people across Sandwell and West Birmingham.

And we want you to help us raise money by exercising. Whether you like to run, walk or cycle, you can log your distance on a special app, and invite your friends, family, and work colleagues to sponsor you for each mile you complete.

The initiative is called One4Every1  –  and you can sign up by connecting to either the Strava, Runkeeper, Fitbit or Twitch apps. All you do is link your fundraising challenge to the app and collect sponsorship for every mile you cover or step you take.

To sign up and find out more visit https://www.givepenny.com/charity/your-trust-charity

Step by Step guide – GivePenny Guide for Charities

Fundraising Ideas

Be sponsored for every step or mile – set a date to begin your challenge and let your friends and family know as early as you can so they can sponsor you.  Share the link to your GivePenny fundraising page where supports can see your progress and make donations in a safe and secure way.

Dream Big – set milestones – go!

Got a specific goal in mind?  Looking for a little added motivation to hit it?  Add a milestone to your GivePenny fundraising page so your friends can pledge donations against it.

Share, share and share again!

Facebook friends, Whatsapp groups, twitter followers, emails.  Share pics, live videos and anything else you can think of to keep things fresh and in everyone’s minds.

What is a Virtual Race?

A virtual race is a race that can be run, walked, cycle from any location you choose. You can run, jog, or walk on the road, on the treadmill, at the gym or on the track (or even at another race). You get to run your own race, at your own pace, and time it yourself.

Why not set your challenge today – whether it’s a 5K, 10K, or half marathon, and once completed your recognition medal will be posted directly to you.

One4Every1

One4Every1

Your Trust Charity supports vital services for over 530,000 people across Sandwell and West Birmingham.

And we want you to help us raise money by exercising. Whether you like to run, walk or cycle, you can log your distance on a special app, and invite your friends, family, and work colleagues to sponsor you for each mile you complete.

The initiative is called One4Every1  –  and you can sign up by connecting to either the Strava, Runkeeper, Fitbit or Twitch apps. All you do is link your fundraising challenge to the app and collect sponsorship for every mile you cover or step you take.

To sign up and find out more visit https://www.givepenny.com/charity/your-trust-charity

Step by Step guide – GivePenny Guide for Charities

Fundraising Ideas

Be sponsored for every step or mile – set a date to begin your challenge and let your friends and family know as early as you can so they can sponsor you.  Share the link to your GivePenny fundraising page where supports can see your progress and make donations in a safe and secure way.

Dream Big – set milestones – go!

Got a specific goal in mind?  Looking for a little added motivation to hit it?  Add a milestone to your GivePenny fundraising page so your friends can pledge donations against it.

Share, share and share again!

Facebook friends, Whatsapp groups, twitter followers, emails.  Share pics, live videos and anything else you can think of to keep things fresh and in everyone’s minds.

What is a Virtual Race?

A virtual race is a race that can be run, walked, cycle from any location you choose. You can run, jog, or walk on the road, on the treadmill, at the gym or on the track (or even at another race). You get to run your own race, at your own pace, and time it yourself.

Why not set your challenge today – whether it’s a 5K, 10K, or half marathon, and once completed your recognition medal will be posted directly to you.

There’s a real ‘buzz’ around Organ Donation

Featured on West Midlands Local Live
Friday 7 September, 2018

There was coverage on West Midlands Local Live, Birmingham TV, of our Organ Donation Awareness event at City Hospital, featuring interviews with Specialist Nurse for Kidney Donation Judith Martin, Hindu Chaplain Rakesh Bhatt, and his wife Bhavana who has waited for a transplant for 12 years.

Watch the footage below:

https://youtu.be/kQ2X41HR8V8

https://youtu.be/xKpXiS5tzaY

Read Rakesh and Bhavana’s full story in Heartbeat later this month. 

Unity Trust Engagement Plan

Senior clinical colleagues from across our organisation will be out over the next 12 weeks demonstrating and discussing Unity as well as reviewing readiness.

Every Tuesday afternoon from the 11 September you will have the opportunity to meet with a clinical Unity Sponsor to discuss the roll out of Unity in your area, share good practice as well as highlight any support you need to ensure the roll out of Unity in your department is a success.

For more information or if you are interested in having a session with the Unity Sponsor please contact the team at: swbh.trustindigital@nhs.net

Full details of the areas that will be covered by each Sponsor will be available on Connect from the 10 September.

Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 7 September

The CQC Inspectors have visited medicine, BMEC and A&E so far and will return over coming weeks.  Everyone has done a great job welcoming them and giving them information.  Although I have had no formal feedback I know that they were very impressed by changes since 2017, and once again by our continued commitment.  Talking to ward managers and others, it is clear that people are finding time to put across their own ideas and plans for change, as well as to be open about our challenges, especially the IT.  I include the latest weekly scorecard (Informatics Data – 7 Sept) but the work that Dean Harris and others have done seems to have fixed the N3 connection, which does give us more stability.  The infrastructure changes go into operation in October, and we all need them to succeed.  A dress rehearsal for Unity takes place later this month, and some people still need to book in for training.  Chase us before we chase you!

The inspectors were very impressed with our shift by shift professional checking process, and MDT working, resulting in improved communication and access to prompt specialist advice   We have until Christmas to get everyone through basic life support training.  Probably the most disappointing feedback so far is around incomplete checks on resus trolleys or unlocked trolleys or cupboards, especially overnight.  That is everyone’s job to get right, so I know that team leaders will be doing some extra checks in coming days.  Do get along to the focus groups if you can. Anyone can attend and you are very welcome to do so.

The storybook we presented to the Board on our improvement journey is worth a look alongside last week’s Purple heartbeat edition on outstanding organisations.  It shows you what we think has changed.  Take a look.  Do you recognise that?  What have we missed?  The Board’s meeting was dominated by discussions on mortality, especially sepsis.  It is clear we have much more we could do to consistently screen and respond to risks faced by our inpatients.  Please discuss in your team meetings whether you are doing everything you could do, consistently, to avoid harm.

The sustainability garden party on Thursday at City was a big success.  The Trust leads the way locally in much of the work we do, and I know that replacing plastic cutlery is something we have pledged to do next.  There are lots of transport alternatives to car travel.  Next year we will open new car parks at City and at Sandwell, but even that will mean a period with less car parking.  Even a couple of days a week of alternative travel makes a difference to our environmental load, and to your health. Walking or cycling can help not only your physical but your mental health.

This weekend marks 300 days until our smoking ban goes into force Trust-wide:  5 July 2019. The ban will not be tokenistic but real, so please consider now how to support colleagues who smoke to quit.  We have absolutely loads of resources to help.  Consider too how you will manage patients who want to smoke, because we will not be supporting that either – NRT (nicotine replacement therapy) will be more widely available on our sites.  The smoking shelters will be taken down, and as you know we will be policing the sites and preventing smoking.  Vaping does have our support, so when you consider your options you might wish to think about how that could help you.

Finally, we also marked organ donation week, joining in with health services and campaign groups across the country to highlight the need for people to have a conversation with their families about their wishes for their organs. I have been struck by the story of one of our patients Mr Michael Willis, who is recovering remarkably after a double lung transplant under the care of our respiratory doctors and the team at Papworth. Mr Willis urged everyone, particularly those from a BAME background to consider donating their organs to ensure that there is the best chance of a suitable match. Without this, Mr Willis would not be alive today.

You can read more about Mr Michael Willis here and sign up to be an organ donor here https://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/

Kam Dhami is acting Chief Executive this week, while Toby is on annual leave.

Heartbeat: Emergency cardiology care shared with paramedics

Paramedics from West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) attended a special training event to learn about our current cardiology protocols and local pathways of care for patients with cardiac emergencies.

It’s the fourth in a series of sessions that have been organised by Dr Rajai Ahmad, Consultant Cardiologist and his interventional cardiology colleagues and emergency department (ED) colleagues were also invited to the event.

The half day course featured presentations from Dr Russell Davis, Consultant Cardiologist and speciality lead, who reviewed the range of cardiology services offered by our organisation and Consultant Interventional Cardiologist, Dr Jawad Khan on ‘ECG interpretation for first responders.

Doctors Leong Lee, Vinoda Sharma and Derek Connolly, Consultant Interventional Cardiologists, then reviewed the optimal management and role of ECG interpretation in the triage of patients with the full range of ‘acute coronary syndromes’.

Before the event, Dr Ahmad told Heartbeat: “This is one in a number of training events that we hold for paramedics from WMAS and, on this occasion, extended to include our ED colleagues where we look at how we best deal with patients admitted to the Trust suffering from cardiac emergencies.

“We share our protocols and pathways for managing those patients and also how to use the ECG to optimise their care. It’s all about bringing the right patients to the right place at the right time.

“We need to do this on a regular basis due to staff changeover, so that those people who are new to our organisation or WMAS are able to benefit as well as keep up with changes in practice.”

Around 40 people attended the course, held at the Education Centre, at Sandwell Hospital. Dr Ahmad added: “Around two thirds of the attendees were from WMAS and previous feedback shows that they find this learning invaluable.”

Dr Derek Connolly, who spoke about ‘out-of-hospital’ cardiac arrests, was joined by patient Malcolm Robinson who described his own experience.

The 69-year-old had been walking down a Birmingham street with his wife when he collapsed. Fortunately a passer-by, who happened to be an off-duty nurse performed CPR on him.

Paramedics, who had arrived at the scene, took him to City Hospital, and he underwent successful Primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with an excellent outcome.

Since then Malcolm has started free CPR courses which he is delivering around the Sutton Coldfield area. He is also hoping to hold a session at Sandwell Hospital.