Monthly archives: February 2019

Free counselling service available to all colleagues

If you are worried, anxious, or experiencing problems you can contact the Trust’s confidential counselling service which is free to all colleagues.

To book an appointment simply call the occupational health team on 0121 507 3306 and choose option 1.

Frequently asked questions:

1. Is the service confidential?
   A. The counselling offered by occupational health is independent of the Trust, and works to the Ethical framework (Code of Ethics and Practice of the BACP), and is therefore confidential. No report is made to any manager of the clients attending, nor the subjects discussed. However, if a client tells a counsellor they are going to break the law and hurt themselves or someone else, then there is no confidentiality. This rule applies to doctors, nurses, social services, etc., as well.
2. Where will I be seen?
   A. The counselling service has its own room within occupational health at both Sandwell and City hospitals.
3. What issues can I discuss in the counselling? Is it just for workplace problems?
   A. The counsellors are trained to deal with a wide range of issues/problems and the majority (some 65 per cent) are nothing to do with the workplace.
4. How many sessions will I have and how often will I be seen?
   A. Trust counsellors are brief therapists and work to a 6 session model, but the average number of appointments clients take is an average 3.8. Because we work in a very cognitive behavioural way, we space the sessions out to every 4 to 5 weeks. This enables you to complete the tasks the counsellor sets and provides you with support over a longer period of time.
5. What happens if I have had 4 sessions and I experience a personal tragedy, such as bereavement? A. Your counsellor would discuss this with occupational health, and in most cases extra sessions are awarded.

Risk assessment half day training sessions

This risk assessment half day training session is to provide you with a better understanding of the purpose of risk assessment.

The course is aimed at:

• All ward/department managers
• Any colleagues that carry out risk assessments
• Any of the above that have not received risk assessment training in the past three years.

The dates and times can be found below. To book a place please contact jacque.calloway@nhs.net

Thrombolysis study day: 5 March

This full day course should be attended by anyone involved in stroke thrombolysis and is free for SWBH colleagues. The topics covered include an introduction to thrombolysis, NIHSS scale score, stroke mimics, pharmacy issues, nursing care, local protocol and complications of thrombolysis. It follows the national curriculum for stroke thrombolysis and BASP (British Association of Stroke Physicians) training requirements.

The course will be held on Tuesday 5 March between 9am-4.30pm in the Education Centre at Sandwell Hospital.

Course now fully booked

For more information contact lorena.chua@nhs.net or sambanwell@nhs.net.

Staff shuttle delay

There will be a break in the staff shuttle service today between Sandwell and City likely affecting the next two run between sites. This is due to a puncture affecting one of the shuttles.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

Sleep and relaxation techniques seminar in 2019

Problems sleeping? Do you want to be able to sleep better?

This seminar will help you to identify factors which can lead to sleep problems and understand the effects of insufficient sleep. We will look at how our sleep is affected when we are stressed and anxious, and how we can soon pick up bad habits and unhelpful associations. We will create an individual sleep routine, whilst highlighting all the self-help of how to get a good night’s sleep.

It will also involve practical techniques for relaxation and mindfulness.

Date: Thursday 7 March
Venue: Anne Gibson Committee Room, City Hospital
Time: 1.30pm-4.30pm

For bookings please contact Jatinder Sekhon or Emma Williams on ext. 3306.

Drug safety notice – nifedipine

There is currently a shortage of nifedipine Adalat capsules.

Supplies of other nifedipine capsules and tablets remain available currently which include:

• Adipine (Chiesi)
• Coracten (UCB)
• Nifedipress (Dexcel)
• Tensipine (Genus)

Patients should be counselled on the change (where applicable) in branding, formulation, strength and in frequency of dosing of nifedipine to avoid potential errors.

Please see nifedipine shortage information sheet for full details.

For more information please contact the ward pharmacist or technician pharmacy department:

• City pharmacy department – ext. 5263
• Sandwell pharmacy department – ext. 3783

Heartbeat: Robot has seal of approval from chief nurse

Meet PARO – the furry robotic seal that will be used as a therapeutic intervention for people with dementia and learning disabilities on our wards.

The fluffy robot uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology to learn from its surroundings and responds to its name. It likes to be petted and even wags its tail afterwards to show appreciation. The seal contains sensors that allow it to perceive what is happening in its surroundings, to recognise light and to know where a voice is coming from. It looks at the person talking to it and makes whining noises.

The robot has been in use since 2003 in more than 30 countries, including Japan, Denmark and the United States and research has shown that the seal lessens stress and anxiety, promotes social interaction, facilitates emotional expression, and improves mood and speech fluency.

Paula Gardner, Chief Nurse, said: “The seals were used at a previous organisation I worked at and I thought they were brilliant, hence why I was keen on introducing them here.

“We regularly hold pet therapy sessions which demonstrate that interaction with real animals improves the mood of our patients and motivates them. “The sessions with Pets as Therapy are held on a weekly basis in a day room on Newton 4 ward and are very popular. However, the PARO seals can be taken to the bedside of our patients which takes away any issues regarding infection control.”

Tests carried out have found that the seal can be safely used. The robot was used over a nine month period on a 10-bed dementia ward, where hygiene and cleaning tests were carried out.

Lead researcher, Dr Penny Dodds said: “We have demonstrated that, under controlled conditions, PARO was safe within the hospital setting for an acute care dementia unit.”

PARO was invented by Professor Takanori Shibata from Japan. He has previously said of his creation: “I set out to find a way to use technology as an alternative drug-free therapy to ease the suffering of patients with dementia.

“The health challenges faced by older people are enormous and growing but technology is changing just as quickly. We’ve proved that this is possible, and that AI has huge potential for the future.”

To find out more about the PARO Seal and how it can be used on your ward, contact Stephen.keates@nhs.net.

Heartbeat: New consultant midwife appointed

Lydia Nestor, a long standing member of the maternity team has been named as our new consultant midwife.

Lydia trained as a nurse at Sandwell Hospital, where she worked for six months after qualifying, before realising that her heart was set on becoming a midwife.

18 months of training followed before she qualified as a midwife. Her first post was a rotational role at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton, before she returned to Sandwell Hospital (where our maternity services were based then) in 1986.

“I have been here ever since,” laughed Lydia when Heartbeat caught up with her to find out more about her new role.

“Throughout my time here I have had the opportunity to work within integrated teams, both in hospital and in the community and I was able to gain an appreciation for a woman’s care as part of their family unit and seeing the impact of care quality on the family for many years to come.”

Lydia was appointed as a midwifery manager in early 2000 and has been given various opportunities to learn and develop which she says have helped her on her journey to becoming our new Consultant Midwife.

“My experience in a number of leadership roles has been strengthened by the leadership programmes supported by the organisation’s learning and development department. This has really helped me to further my understanding of links between good leadership, team effectiveness and the delivery of high quality compassionate care.”

One of the main functions for the consultant midwife role is acting as an expert reference point for midwives and the multi-disciplinary teams, aiming to improve outcomes and patient experience. It requires keeping the woman as the focus of her care and to normalise their experience of maternity care wherever possible.

Lydia explained more: “For many women, maternity care and birth is a normal process, but due to our complex demographic area, this is not the case for all of our patients.

“Our service provides a range of specialist obstetric consultant clinics that care for women in pregnancy with conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, mental ill-health, and other medical conditions.”

Lydia runs a weekly psychological wellbeing clinic for ladies that require additional care, planning and those are experiencing anxiety due to a variety of sources.

“The women who attend the clinic are fearful of the maternity process and particularly of giving birth,” said Lydia.

“At their appointment I try and understand what has happened and we talk through the options for birth, including pain relief and place of birth.

“Some of the ladies feel better able to cope after one appointment, but others need more and some leave with an open appointment to return if they need to. I have also set up some telephone consultation clinics for women that I have already met, which will save their travel time or time out of work etc.

“I also see women postnatally, so we can debrief on their experience, which reduces the chance of them developing postnatal depression or trauma symptoms and helps to keeps them psychologically well as they move on with their family life. For some, this forms planning for their next birth.”

Aside from the clinics and work with individual patients, Lydia will play a vital role in shaping the future of maternity care across the region as we implement the recommendations from Better Births, the maternity five year forward view.

A key priority for this work is reorganising teams to provide improved continuity of carer. Another key priority is to set up a Maternity Voices partnership, a local group which will consist of women and their families, commissioners and providers working together to review and contribute to the development of local maternity care.

It is clear from talking to Lydia that she has a genuine passion and excitement for her new role. As an internal candidate for the role, Lydia was able to spend time shadowing Kathryn Gutteridge (our previous consultant midwife who retired last year) at a number of clinics to ensure continuity of this valuable service.

“Kathryn passed the baton on so to speak,” said Lydia.

“I am really looking forward to carrying on her work and to being able to make a different to patients and their families of Sandwell and West Birmingham.”

Working with young people workshop: 27 and 28 February

Want to understand more about how teenagers think? Better manage young people working within your team?

These workshops aim to provide attendees with insights and tools to help connect with young people in the workplace, at home or wherever we may connect with them.

Participants will gain psychological insights into:

• Why adolescents behave the way they do
• New practical tools to use when feeling stuck in intergenerational conversations or dynamics
• How others engage through sharing and exchanging ideas
• How psychological research informs practice facilitated by trained psychologists

Workshop facilitators: Dr Mark Holland, Senior Lecturer, Newman University and Riddhi Prajapati, Trainee Clinical Psychologist

Workshop dates and locations:

• Wednesday 27 February, Anne Gibson Board Room, City Hospital – 10am – 12.30pm
• Thursday 28 February, The Berridge Room, Sandwell Hospital – 10am – 12.30pm

To book onto a session please contact emma.williams21@nhs.net or call ext. 3306, option 4.

Unity Training – are you booked?

Thank you to colleagues who have booked and attended their Unity training as requested.

However if you are one of the remaining colleagues who have not yet booked onto training or responded to communications please book on to the additional training sessions that have been made available and book on via Connect https://connect2.swbh.nhs.uk/trustindigital/unity/unity-training/unity-end-user-training/ or by emailing swbh.informaticsbookings@nhs.net.

Please make sure you attend your training if this is booked as there are only a limited number of spaces to accommodate those outstanding in February.

If you do not attend your training or cancel at short notice so the place cannot be reallocated, your department may be fined £100.