Monthly archives: November 2018

Diabetes team scoop national award

Featured in The Phoenix Newspaper:

The diabetes team at a West Midlands NHS Trust are celebrating double success at a prestigious national awards ceremony.

Clinicians from Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust were recognised for their initiative in improving the management of patients with both diabetes and dementia (DIADEM) ­­­- winning the Patient Care Pathway, Generic or Specialist Adult category at the Quality in Care Diabetes Awards.

Meanwhile a second initiative from the organisation, which developed the patient-centred collaborative diabetes model (DICE), was commended in the same category.

The winning initiative involved a review of patients with diabetes and dementia and improving the way their medication was managed.

Dr Parijat De, Consultant in Diabetes and Clinical Lead in Diabetes and Endocrinology, said: “We are very proud to have received this award and been highly commended for the DiCE initiative. It reflects the hard work that we have been carrying out within the Trust.”

Judges said of the DIADEM initiative: “It is a great, innovative idea, with good identification of the stakeholders involved. It is sustainable and has strong dissemination. It is fantastic to have a specific team for this group of patients and this lovely project is ahead of its time.”

Sepsis is our number one quality priority: Day 16 of our campaign

Message on behalf of Dr. Nick Makwana MD, Consultant Paediatrician

For paediatrics:

Sepsis in children is often difficult to diagnose and symptoms may mimic other common neonatal and childhood illnesses. Febrile illness is the second most common cause for attendance to an emergency department after breathing problems. However, not all children with sepsis will present with fever. Signs and symptoms can be subtle and interpretation is dependent on a culture of awareness and suspicion of the condition. Mortality in children with infection once they are admitted to PICU is 15-20%, yet overall cohort mortality for sepsis is under 10%. It’s essential we spot sepsis early. It is important to complete the paediatric sepsis screening tool for all children who attend for assessment.

Sepsis is a medical emergency, and therefore all measures should be in place to tackle it like an emergency – prioritising prompt diagnosis and treatment. It has been demonstrated that the administration of antibiotics is time critical. The Paediatric Sepsis 6 is modelled on the adult Sepsis Six programme. It is designed to empower medical and nursing staff to recognise sepsis early and initiate treatment rapidly. Where doubt exists, a clinician experienced in the recognition of sepsis in children should be consulted immediately and the basic components of the Paediatric Sepsis 6 initiated as appropriate. The Paediatric Sepsis 6 should be completed within one hour of initial identification, without waiting for the results of further investigations. Following delivery of the Paediatric Sepsis 6, children should be monitored closely and care escalated appropriately regardless of the time of day or experience of the staff.

Thank you to all those who look after children in ensuring an accurate assessment and speedy response should sepsis be suspected.

Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) Experts Programme 2018/2019

On the 14^th November I attended the launch of the WRES experts programme in London. I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to participate.

I am looking forward to networking with and learning from like-minded individuals who understand the importance of race equality within the NHS. WRES is a key component of the Five Year Forward View, forms part of the NHS Standard Contract, is in the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) improvement and assurance framework and part of the CQC inspection process.

Module one takes place in January 2019. There are six modules in total, concluding with a celebration event in July 2019.

It was great to hear Ruth May, Executive Director of Nursing, NHS Improvement speak about the importance of WRES. Lord Prior, Chairman NHS England gave his keynote address stating “Words are not enough. It’s time for action” “The work you are doing is hugely important”.

On completion of the programme I will have an enhanced set of skills and knowledge in relation to WRES. I will be sharing my learning with the Executive Team and key messages and best practice will be cascaded. I will also happily share this knowledge with peers to ensure that we fully embed WRES within our organisation.

Whilst acknowledging that I will be labelled the “expert” I want to be clear that the responsibility to embed WRES within our Trust and evidence improvement across all nine indicators year on year is a collective responsibility. This should not be viewed as an “add on” or “nice to do”. WRES is built on the values of the NHS Constitution and is linked to patient care, patient safety and patient satisfaction.

I look forward to sharing my learning with you.

Donna Mighty
Co-Chair BME Staff Network

Info –

WRES was introduced in April 2015 to ensure that employees from Black Minority & Ethnic (BME) backgrounds have equal access to career opportunities and receive fair treatment in the workplace.

The report on The Snowy White Peaks of the NHS highlighted the absence of black and minority ethnic staff from the NHS at senior levels and concluded that not only has there been no progress but things may have actually got worse.

LGBT Staff Network – 2019 Chair & Vice Chair

Our LGBT Staff Network is #PROUD to announce that following the call for nominations we have one person nominated for Chair and one person nominated for Vice Chair.

David Powell (Matron) is elected unopposed to the position of Chair

Stuart Young RN (Head of Diversity & Inclusion) is elected unopposed to the position of Vice Chair

They take up their roles from the 1st of January 2019.

The LGBT Staff Network would like to thank Stuart Young who is stepping down as Chair at the end of December for all of his hard work and dedication is establishing our strong and very visible network of LGBT+ Staff and Allies.

The network are looking forward to getting our first Stonewall Equality Index feedback in the early part of next year and to planning our attendance at Birmingham Pride 2019.

World Antibiotic Awareness Week – join us at Sandwell and City today

World Antibiotic Awareness Week concludes this Sunday. Throughout the week we have covered a variety of topics including antibiotic resistance and the threat it poses to human health and wellbeing as well as how antibiotics save lives, but we haven’t developed new antibiotics in the last 30 years.

To celebrate World Antibiotic Awareness Week, today we will be hosting awareness stands from 11am-1pm at both the BTC (1st floor by the escalators) at City Hospital and the main reception at Sandwell Hospital.

For more information please contact conor.jamieson@nhs.net.

RCN SEPSIS Local Learning Event – Thank You

Support Your Trust Charity through AmazonSmile

AmazonSmile is a program that donates 0.5 per cent of your eligible purchases on Amazon to Your Trust Charity with donations being made at no extra cost to you.

To support Your Trust Charity, when buying anything from Amazon, visit https://smile.amazon.co.uk/ch/1056127-0 and login into your account. Now when you purchase eligible goods, 0.5 per cent of your purchase will be donated directly to the charity.

For more information, please contact amanda.winwood@nhs.net.

Alcohol Awareness Week: 19-25 November

Find out how you can help patients take control of their drinking.

The alcohol team, Public Health England CGL (Change, Grow, Live) and Cranstoun will be at Sandwell and City Hospitals next week to speak to the public about the wide range of support available for patients and their families.

During the week, visitors are invited to taste non-alcoholic drinks and are encouraged to take part in a number of engaging activities, including trying on beer goggles and having a go at a quiz about alcohol consumption.

Visit the stands at:

City Hospital – Main reception:

• Tuesday, 20 November, 11am-2.30pm

Sandwell Hospital –  Main reception, by the lifts.

• Friday, 23 November, 11am-2.30pm

The team will also visit medical wards on both hospitals on 21 and 22 November to speak to colleagues about their services.

Heartbeat: Fond farewell for forty years’ service

Colleagues from across the Trust came together earlier this month to bid a fond farewell to a much loved colleague who was retiring after having devoted over 40 years of service to the NHS.

Hansaben Patel, known fondly as Hansa to colleagues started her NHS career as a nursing cadet at the age of 16 in 1974 with her first job basing her at the old District Hospital in West Bromwich. Within months, Hansa had found her calling and wanted to move in to nursing as her career, she found herself applying for a nursing auxillary role.

Remembering her early career, Hansa shared with Heartbeat a conversation she had with a matron when she first started nursing, “When I started my first nurse job, the matron at that time said I’ll give you six months,  that stuck with me and I was determined to prove her wrong”.  Forty years later, it’s clear that Hansa’s determination was unrelenting.

In the years following, Hansa has established herself on Lyndon 4 as a HCA who is caring and compassionate, putting the patient first and doing so with a smile on her face.

Speaking of her time at the Trust of which the last stint was 19 years, Hansa said, “I’ve enjoyed every minute of my career, every part and every person. There has not been a day when I’ve not woken up and looked forward to coming in to work.”

Speaking to Hansa it’s clear she sees caring as a vocation rather than occupation as alongside her role at the Trust where she is a HCA, she also spends every free day working at a local nursing home caring for elderly residents.

Looking forward to her retirement, Hansa has big plans, “We have a family home in India which we visit every year, but now I will get to spend much more time there. I’ll also be travelling to Dubai for New Years as a retirement present and we have a Mediterranean cruise planned. Best of all, I get to spend more time with my four grandchildren.”

On her retirement, Hansa had one parting message for her colleagues, “It’s been a privilege to work for the NHS and I wish everyone in my team the best for the future. “

11 days until the change over of the new pressure ulcer categories

Pressure ulcers can be painful and distressing for patients and they are largely preventable. Nationwide, we’re still seeing more than 1,300 new pressure ulcers a month and treating pressure ulcers costs the NHS approx. £1.4 million every day. Accuracy in pressure ulcer categorising is vital.

To find out more information about pressure ulcers, why not visit our roadshow on Friday 16 November from 11.30am-1.30pm at Rowley Hospital.

Full list of dates/times/locations for the pressure ulcer training plan for w/c 19 November.