Monthly archives: January 2019
CDA mandatory training records issues
There is currently a problem with the mandatory training records with the CDA system not showing all the subjects correctly. We’re aware of the problem and it is being worked on.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Heartbeat: Unity end user training – have you done yours?
New dates have been released for the Unity end user training, and managers are asked to ensure their teams are trained by Thursday 31 January.
Nearly 5,000 of us will use Unity when it’s launched – it is therefore essential that we are ready by getting the appropriate training.
Heartbeat caught up with Chief Nurse, Paula Gardner who is the executive lead for Unity training. She said: “Just over 2,000 colleagues are still to be trained; the new schedule of dates released during the first week in December will enable colleagues to book their training slots in readiness for this significant change in the way we work.
“If you have been identified as person who requires training, it will not be possible to do your work without Unity. This training is an essential part of the role, I cannot stress enough how important it is for colleagues to take part.
“Once you have taken part in the training, you are given access to the Unity Play System. This will be essential in helping to keep fresh your new skills and will allow you to practice in a safe environment.”
To book onto a course see the training schedule on Connect. 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.
Safeguard: Issue submitting incident reports
There is currently a configuration error on the incident reporting system which is preventing colleagues from formally submitting an incident.
If you have recorded incident details, these details are kept on the system as ‘saved for later’ as long as you press ‘save as draft’.
If you have saved as draft the information will not be lost and there is no need to re enter the details.
Once the error is rectified you will be asked to confirm the incident for submission next time you log in.
Many apologies for any inconvenience.
This problem should be rectified by today (8 January).
Any urgent queries please do not hesitate to contact the patient safety managers ext. 4885.
Heartbeat: Community project scoops top gong at national awards
A unique befriending initiative between volunteers and our patients, which has seen a 67 per cent reduction in the length for some patients, has scooped a coveted national award.
The Sapphire Service has won the Celebrating Inclusion and Diversity in Volunteering category at the inaugural Helpforce Champions Awards 2018.
The project, which is run jointly by Agewell and West Bromwich African Caribbean Resource Centre and was initially funded by Your Trust Charity, also boasted a reduction of 49 per cent in re-admissions.
Volunteers, who work alongside staff from the Sapphire Service, befriend patients whilst they are being treated as inpatients at Sandwell Hospital and ensure they are eating well and have plenty to drink. After they are discharged, patients receive home visits from the volunteers who will support them in many ways, such as helping them with grocery shopping or managing their bills, so they can eventually return to their normal way of life.
Johnny Shah, Head of Your Trust Charity, said: “Since the project started in March 2017, it has achieved some fantastic results and we’re delighted to see this project receive national recognition.
“The Sapphire Service has made a great difference, particularly to patients who do not have many visitors. We asked those who have benefited from the service what they thought and their feedback told us that they felt less lonely and isolated thanks to the support of the volunteers.”
Shane Ward, Chief Executive of the West Bromwich African Caribbean Resource Centre, said: “This award is a ringing endorsement of the effort, energy and positive approach of all the partners, West Bromwich African Caribbean Resource Centre, Agewell and Your Trust Charity.
“The award has given us all a great boost and we look forward to continuing the positive working relationship.
“The project has looked after 890 elderly patients and 353 of them have been from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds. One of the key reasons why the project’s been so successful is because it focuses on inclusion and diversity.
“A majority of our volunteers are from BAME backgrounds as well as our patients, which means they feel more confident in communicating with the volunteers about their issues and asking for the help that they need.”
Deborah Harrold, Chief Executive of Agewell added: “I would like to say thank you to Your Trust Charity for funding this project.
“Without this vital support, many patients would struggle to go back to their normal life.”
The awards, which took place in London on Thursday 8 November, celebrated the varied ways in which volunteers across the country are giving their time to benefit patients, colleagues and communities.
By shining a light on the range of ways that volunteers are involved in the NHS, the Helpforce Champions Awards demonstrated that dedicated volunteers can contribute to a more compassionate care system for everyone.
Sir Thomas Hughes-Hallett, Founder and Chair of Helpforce, said: “We have been humbled to see so many examples of inspiring volunteering from across the country. We know the benefits that well managed volunteers bring, with substantial improvements in patient care and positive feedback from NHS staff.
“Helpforce is on a mission to inspire as many people as possible to enjoy being part of the health and care of British people, and we thank all those volunteers who are giving so much.”
Helpforce is a national movement to improve the lives of NHS staff, patients and communities through the power of volunteering. It is working with hospitals and healthcare workers to create the future of volunteering in the NHS. Backed by leaders in the world of healthcare, it aims to make community-integrated healthcare the norm across the UK.
Red bag scheme for care home patients update
Thank you for supporting the red bag project in Sandwell.
The general principles are that the red bag remains and travels with the care home resident throughout their hospital journey. The bags are designed to be reusable and need to be returned to the originating care home after use. If a resident is discharged to a different care home, not the home they arrived from, their red bag will need to travel with them to their new destination and arrangements will be made to return the bag to the originating care home at a later date.
If a care home resident dies while in hospital, please contact the care home in the first instance to confirm the arrangements to return the bag to the home as soon as possible. The red bag project team can also be contacted by emailing jeevenjit.sian@nhs.net or calling the BCF Business Support Team on 0121 569 5516.
For more details regarding the red bag scheme please click here.
Note: Please store the red bag and any contents securely until collection can be arranged and do not dispose of the bag, personal belongings or transfer documents unless specifically instructed to do so. The red bag should only be disposed of where specific infection prevention advice is received that indicates the bag cannot be reused and only with the agreement of the Sandwell Red Bag project team.
Heartbeat: Roadshows create a buzz about Unity
There was a positive buzz and anticipation for the launch of our new electronic patient record when colleagues visited the first week of the Unity roadshows.
Nearly 200 colleagues stopped to speak to staff about getting ready for go-live and how Unity will support teams in their clinical practice.
Sharon Reynolds, Informatics Matron said: “The idea of the roadshows is to focus on clinical safety. The first round of events will initially concentrate on the themes of sepsis management and how Unity can further support the safety plan.”
Sharon added: “It was great to see colleagues from different professions stopping by to speak about Unity and sepsis. Many shared their own experiences about loved ones affected by sepsis and appreciated the early detection of patients who may be affected.
“We also had a huge number of colleagues downloading the myConnect app – a really useful way of keeping up to date with the latest news about Unity.”
The roadshows are a great opportunity for digital champions to work together with the Unity project team and gain further understanding of the system. If you would like to come and help out on a roadshow please email the clinical informatics team swbh.informaticsnurses@nhs.net.
To download the myConnect app search for SWBH myConnect on Google Play Store and Apple App Store and download it free to your personal phone.
Art workshops on the wards
Featured in the Express & Star
Talented students from Sandwell College made a trip to a West Midlands hospital this month, to engage patients in a variety of simple and fun arts and crafts activities.
The creative workshops, which are jointly organised by the charity Kissing it Better and Sandwell College, aim to bring arts into hospitals to “brighten up” patients’ days. The students visited children and elderly patients at Sandwell Hospital, which is run by Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust (SWBH).
Jackie Roxborough, Project Lead and Practitioner for Kissing it Better, explained: “We are delighted to work with Sandwell College and the Trust to deliver this initiative.
“After talking to patients and staff, we felt that having creative workshops within hospitals would greatly benefit patients. Sometimes patients can spend time alone in hospital and engaging activities are just what they need to help them feel brighter.
“We have worked with Sandwell College on other projects, and felt that patients would benefit greatly from sessions with art students. We are glad that this initiative has been taken on board by both organisations.”
Mardeen Blbas, one of the students, said: “I’m so happy to be part of this project. When I first heard about it, I couldn’t wait to come in and work with patients.
“It was a great joy to see the young patients’ smiles when I showed them how to colour 3D animation pictures. I feel that I’m part of a large community where my skills can make a difference to someone.”
Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 4 January
I promised this week’s message would be one of announcements. So here goes.
Firstly, we now have the permissions we need to advertise for the final contractor to complete Midland Met. This includes agreement to all the cost incurred so far, the monies granted late last year to help maintain City Hospital to 2022, and funds to meet the future costs of the delay, including the need for a second pathology laboratory for longer than our Black Country Pathology Service business case envisaged. Aided by our firm discipline on finance and delivery of this year’s budget, and conscious of the huge need to rationalise acute care into a single specialist site, we continue to have the confidence of investors to spend taxpayers’ money wisely and get the new hospital open in around 36 months time. The advert to do so is out today.
Secondly, we are now allowed to confirm that we have been awarded two Primary Care GP contracts. This is a big step for the Trust and will happen in partnership with Urban Health in Handsworth, and with Your Health Partnership in West Bromwich. YHP are also our partners in applying to build a GP surgery on the Sandwell Hospital site, and planning consent is expected in February. Taken together with the work we are doing with Black Country Family Practice in Tipton, as we look to make the Neptune Centre a key western hub for our outpatient work, and with Tower Hill on the A34 (by the Scott Arms) the Trust is getting closer to our 2020 Vision for care integration. This is a vision about all of us changing how we work and what we do, and focusing more and more time on a risk stratified view of our population’s health needs.
The hat trick is completed by the appointment of four new medical leaders. Just before Christmas we interviewed for a team of medical leaders to support David Carruthers with the responsibilities of the medical director. The posts join our operational Clinical Group Directors, and work alongside Kath Gill who is our acting Research and Development Director, and Julian Chilvers, our Director of Medical Education. The new roles place medical leadership even more deeply at the heart of the Trust, as we look to ensure a clinically led organisation. From a great field, we selected the following colleagues who will start in post in the spring: Mark Anderson will take on the role with responsibility for supporting doctors’ professional standards. Chizo Agwu will take a lead role on our quality plan, including reducing amenable mortality. Sarb Clare will work on quality improvement in acute care, while Ansu Basu will take a similar role focused on how we work with other hospitals and especially with primary care. Heartbeat in April will include a profile of many of our medical leaders, so that everyone in the Trust knows who holds the responsibilities for both influencing and deciding how we work and what we do. I wish to offer the thanks of the Board to Nigel Trudgill who has served as deputy medical director for some years and really established the remit of the role, and Carol Cobb who has led on implementing our medical examiners roles. Both will step down when our new appointees commence.
A quick quiz to end my message with:
- Are you one of the 952 colleagues who has more than two out of date mandatory training courses on your file? With a few weeks to go until March you need to act now if your PDR outcome is not to adversely effected by mandatory training non-compliance. You cannot rate above a 2 for performance if you are not compliant (over 2000 colleagues already are compliant). And from April 2019, of course, anyone paid under Agenda for Change will not get their salary increment if they are not mandatory training compliant – a national policy not local.
- Are you one of the 852 colleagues whose Basic Life Support training looks like it is not up to date? It takes five minutes to get this competency check done. On January 11th non-compliant individuals will be contacted via their line manager, given that we said we would be complete by Christmas 2018. I hope you agree this is a safety issue.
- Are you one of the 63 employees who has not had your 2017/18 PDR? This is, clearly, a very serious matter and one that is now subject to conduct and disciplinary action. I am sure there is still time in January to get the PDR done or properly recorded and put the issue to bed. Don’t wait, act.
We employ over 6000 people. And the numbers above mean that you can guess that almost everyone is hitting the basic standards of PDR and training compliance. Thank you. The NHS is busy and demands can seem unrelenting. Even though these are the basics, they take time and trouble to get right. I appreciate the effort you make.
If you are struggling do get in touch with your line manager, with me, or with Raffaela Goodby and Bethan Downing in the People and OD team. We want to work with you to help. Everyone is busy and things get missed. The Trust will only succeed if we are all able to do our best and meet the core standards our patients expect and most colleagues here meet. Let’s work together to make sure you are on the team.
Best wishes for 2019. There is a great deal to look forward to. Next week I will focus more of my message on our IT, as we countdown to the Unity Full Dress Rehearsal in five weeks time. Do get your training booked before January 31st. But you know that….
Attached are this week’s IT statistics: IT Performance Stats 4 January 2019
#hellomynameis…Toby
Cold Weather Alert Level 2 – Alert and Readiness
There is a 60 per cent probability of severe cold weather between today and Saturday 5 January in parts of England. This weather could increase the health risks to vulnerable patients and disrupt the delivery of services. There is scheduled widespread overnight frost and some freezing fog patches.
Please refer to the Severe Weather Plan for appropriate preventive action.
For individuals the cold weather plan recommends:-
- Dress warmly with layers; take warm food drinks regularly; keep active
- If you have to go out, take appropriate precautions
- Check on those you know are at risk
Please can you consider this in your work and as individuals. Looking after vulnerable people in the Community prevents additional hospital admissions. This is a busy time for Urgent and Emergency care, the cold weather could add to the pressure and these actions may help to reduce that pressure.
As individuals, please consider making sure you follow the guidance and that you promote good care for friends and family during this time.
Drug recall – irbesartan/hydrochlorothiazide
Actavis is recalling certain batches of irbesartan/hydrochlorothiazide tablets from pharmacies as a precautionary measure due to possible contamination with N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA).
For a detailed list of batches please see Irbesartan recall sheet
For more information please contact the pharmacy department on ext. 5259.
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