Monthly archives: February 2019

Heartbeat: Friends’ donation gets patients moving

An £18,000 donation from the League of Friends at City and Sandwell Hospitals is helping to get patients on our community wards moving more. The money has been used to purchase three Thera-Trainers – specially adapted bikes which allow patients to exercise their legs or upper body from a chair or wheelchair.

Heartbeat spoke to Advanced Physiotherapist, Matthew Craven to find out how the bikes are making a difference to patients.

“A few months ago we had a Thera- Trainer on loan from a company,” said Matthew.

“We audited its use and found that we were using it with several patients everyday so I decided to put in an application for funding from the League of Friends.

“Thankfully it was accepted and Sandwell Hospital League of Friends funded two Thera-Trainers, one for Leasowes Intermediate Care Centre and Henderson Unit at Rowley Regis Hospital whilst City Hospital League of Friends provided the funding for the machine on D47.

“The patients we work with are medically fit for discharge from hospital, but they often require assistance with their mobility to help them with their walking or recover their ability to do daily activities.”

Often the patients that Matthew and the intermediate care physiotherapists work with are in their 80s and 90s, so using conventional equipment for their therapy is not normally possible.

Matthew explained: “In most circumstances, we couldn’t ask an 85 year old patient to climb onto a traditional exercise bike, but the beauty of the Thera-Trainer is that there is no climbing required at all. You can simply wheel a wheelchair in or transfer the patient to a normal chair if they are able and they can use the trainer to cycle with their legs or their hands – or both if they are feeling particularly energetic!”

Patients can spend between 10 and 30 minutes on the Thera-Trainer, depending on their level of tolerance, but Matthew said they have definitely seen an increase in the patients’ motivation for their therapy sessions since the trainers were delivered.

“Previously, we would be asking patients to do exercises such as 10 leg raises or 10 arm raises, which could become fairly boring for them, especially when they have a therapy session every day.

“But the Thera-Trainers have screens on which allow them to play little games whilst they are exercising. They can pedal to move a car around a track and it also tells them how fast or how far they are going – it is much more motivating for them.

“They find it really enjoyable and we are finding that more patients are wanting to use the trainers outside of their therapy session which is fantastic. The more exercise they are doing – the quicker their recovery will be.”

Ernest Loynes, aged 91, has really enjoyed using the bike: “It’s fantastic – I never thought I would ride a bike again at my age, but I can work up a sweat without worrying about falling off.”

Matthew is full of praise for the League of Friends: “I can’t say how grateful we are to the League of Friends at both City and Sandwell Hospitals.

“The money they donated for us to be able to purchase the Thera-Trainers has made such a difference to our patients already and I know the equipment will continue to help us to provide a better level of therapy and get patients back to their families sooner.”

Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 15 February

We have grit but so far no snow and let’s hope it stays that way.  We do continue to see the impact of flu on our admissions, and I can only reiterate the absolute importance of being up to date with vaccinations.  Meanwhile, the Full Dress Rehearsal for Unity continues.  The first two weeks have taught us a lot, with most of those who have used the system reporting really positively.  I was delighted to hear at the Digital Committee today from our lead clinicians, two bits of feedback in particular:

• That having a ‘hard stop’ on VTE assessment was disruptive. That is great news because it is meant to be.  VTE assessment is a key safety intervention and one that can save lives, so we make no apology for using our technology to make conducting the assessment and putting it onto the system so it is visible to all clinicians looking after a patient an absolute priority.
• That moving to the new Electronic Prescribing illustrated the real weaknesses of our current drug charts, especially around legibility. Again, that is the point of the change – the gain which makes the pain worthwhile.  Our insight into medication errors in our care remains partial, but we are confident that the move to the new system will improve quality and prevent mistakes.

On the run up to the new N3 connection in April, our IT technical team have a huge volume of work to do to improve our infrastructure.  That work will then get us ready for Unity Go Live.  In January we had 8 of our 13 critical gold systems work all day every day, and no network downtime.  But specific systems, including PACs had several hours of downtime, and many more hours of slow time.  A precursor to Go Live is resolving just that.

You will know that now no IT incident logged with our Helpdesk is closed without your agreement as the reporter, or customer even.  Over 3,000 of you had closed tickets in January, where you agreed the team had fixed your issue.  Well done!  Fixing the Wifi and our printers will close many more tickets, but the biggest gain is changing our password policy which is going live over coming weeks.

Attached are this week’s IT stats: IT Performance Stats 15 February 2019

Unity is a quality improvement project with a digital base.  That means we all need to know how to use it best.  If you are one of the 326 untrained people in our Trust on the system, please step forward.  Over coming weeks there will be access to both the play domain and the e-learning system to help those who are already trained to stay expert or gain confidence in the system.

The other big news from the last week, I think, was the subject I wrote to everyone about:  our success in winning back the Sandwell school nursing contract from April.  That is exciting because many of those staff are old friends of local teams in our midst, but also because it creates a platform, working with schools and teachers, and parents, including parents on our staff, to tackle health issues in our midst.  Fizz Free February has had publicity this month.  Next month we go live with our period poverty project, FreeFlow, Trust-wide, and of course that is an issue for young people in the borough too, which is why the Red Box project is prevalent in some places.  Whether it is educating children on headaches, or addressing issues of bullying and exclusion, we want to use the new opportunity to help and contribute to the big health challenges we face.  Of course that agenda is not confined to young people.  I had the privilege to meet this week with 50 voluntary sector leaders in Lozells and listen to their ambitions for how services can develop to tackle inequality and exclusion.  Our Care Alliance work to integrate care will be precisely that grassroots endeavour.  Local GPs will get central funding to support social prescribing, and we will work with partners to try and target services better at the most vulnerable residents in our communities.

We know that employment matters very much to health.  You may have seen some publicity for our longstanding Health Overseas Professionals project (HOP) in the Guardian newspaper and online.  This project is about building bridges, not building walls, and about tackling the NHS workforce crisis by looking at the talent in our midst.  This project looks especially at clinicians and professionals from overseas, here as refugees or migrants, and by supporting education and qualification conversion, creates for us a pipeline of knowledgeable people who can join our teams, or those in local primary care.  Our educational role is important to many people working in the Trust, and whether it is new systems like HOP, or our longstanding traditions around nursing or medical education we want to make sure that the student experience with us is effective and exciting.

I am delighted to be able to end this message by confirming a 40% increase in next year’s training budget across the Trust.  Needs analysis work is going on through each clinical group, and we want to ensure that the bigger pot is used fairly across all professions.  We are one Trust and one team, and we want to develop individuals and teams to succeed.  So please do not be told, we have no funds, because we are committed to prioritising education and linking that investment to individual PDRs and to an obligation to share your learning with your peers.  In other words, there is more money to fund training, but we will be asking you to join the welearn revolution here and share what you know and what you learn with others.

#hellomynameisToby

Heartbeat: Audiology share new ways to respond to patient views

Two years ago colleagues in audiology decided it was time to review and refresh how they went about engaging with and involving patients in service development. Thus began their journey to moving their age old paper feedback forms in to the digital forms they are now.

Recognising that paper feedback forms were time consuming (both for patients and colleagues processing them), heavily biased due to patients completing them in clinic and limited in their response rates, the department began to look for a more modern solution.

To find out more about their journey, Heartbeat caught up with Audiologist, Fiona Bowen, she said: “We knew for a while that we needed a better solution, the paper forms we had used long since passed their usefulness and before long we found Smart Surveys.

“Now, using the new survey system, we’re able to sample 100 patients each and every month by sending them a text message link to a feedback survey that they can complete. Because the patients get the link on their phone, they can complete and return it quickly and easily, the responses are open and honest and there is no bias.

“Each quarter, we download the data and analyse the results and since we began using this system we have seen our response rates rise, as well an increase in suggestions and comments for service improvements.”

Noting the one caveat to the system, being that patients need to have a smartphone, the department also offers a range of manual feedback solutions, with ‘sad and glad’ boards available in the department, where patients can indicate what made them sad or glad about their experience as well as traditional comment cards.

Looking to the future, the department will be aiming to roll out tailored digital surveys to each service area within audiology including paediatrics and specialist services.

To find out more, contact Fiona Bowen on fiona.york@nhs.net

Conflict resolution e-learning now available

Conflict resolution e-learning is now available in addition to the traditional classroom training. The e-learning course can now be completed via ESR or the e-learning for health website (e-LfH).

For guidance on how to access and complete conflict resolution via e-learning please refer to the Mandatory Training e-Learning Guide.

Rapid assessment, interface and discharge team referrals

Rapid assessment, interface and discharge team referral forms have changed. Can all colleagues please ensure that they’re using the new forms and old forms are disregarded.

Liaison Psychiatry Referral Process

Liaison Psychiatry Referral Form

Referrals can be made seven days a week and 24 hours a day for AMU 1/ 2 wards and through a telephone conversation with a designated member of staff or administration for accident and emergency department only.

For more information contact the rapid assessment, interface and discharge team on ext 6063 or out of hours on mobile 07985882816.

South Staffs Water mains replacement at Rowley

Moor Lane, (where Rowley Regis Hospital is based) will be having some water mains works taking place as part of an ongoing improvement plan. These works will commence on 25 February and will run to 1 May.

How will this affect you? 

Moor Lane, Junction of Orchard Close, will have a three way traffic light system in place. With this mind, colleagues should plan for delays when travelling to and from Rowley Hospital, especially during busier periods.

For more information please see Rowley water replacement scheme sheet.

South Staff Water apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Fizz Free February – Save money, save your teeth and stay healthy

Taking part in Fizz Free February is a great way to reduce your sugar intake by cutting out fizzy drinks.

Fizzy drinks are the largest single source of sugar for children aged 11-18, and they provide an average of 29 per cent of daily sugar intake. By committing to going fizz free for the entire month of February, you can develop new habits to make it easier to cut down on fizzy drinks for the rest of the year.

Be sure to check out this video featuring Derek Connolly, Consultant Cardiologist who is speaking about the importance of Fizz Free February.

Save money, save your teeth and stay healthy, join us in #FizzFreeFeb

Pulse: We need your stories

Pulse is the community page within Heartbeat magazine which gives news in brief from around our workplace.

If you have a story you would like to appear on the Pulse page within Heartbeat magazine, please contact swbh.comms@nhs.net.

Heartbeat: Maternity lead the way on VTE assessments

Our maternity service has been making fantastic progress with venous thromboembolism (VTE) assessments culminating in the organisation collectively achieving a 95 per cent threshold in December.

VTE is a condition in which a blood clot forms, most often in the deep veins of the leg, groin or arm (known as deep vein thrombosis) and travels in the circulation, lodging in the lungs (known as pulmonary embolism,). Pulmonary embolism is one of the most common direct causes of maternal death in the UK. Together, these are known as VTE which is a dangerous and potentially life threatening medical condition if not detected or treated.

National reports from the confidential enquiries into maternal deaths have highlighted past failures in recognising risk factors for VTE and using adequate prophylaxis, particularly as the population of childbearing women has become more complex.

Pregnancy is associated with a tenfold increase in VTE, with the immediate postnatal period being the time where the risk is at its highest. Therefore all pregnant women who are admitted require VTE assessment to be performed within 24 hours of admission so any additional risks can be highlighted and ensure the appropriate care is planned and implemented.

Claire Cushing, M2 Ward Manager appreciates the importance of VTE assessments in caring appropriately for our pregnant women and new mothers.

She said: “It is crucial that we achieve 100 per cent compliance so that we can ensure all women have had the relevant risk assessment performed and the required treatment provided, if needed.

“When it was announced we had reached 95 per cent in December I was delighted but we must make sure we continue and strive to achieve 100 per cent throughout 2019.”

She added: “There have been a few changes in the process of performing VTE with the system we use in maternity, therefore effective communication has been required to ensure all colleagues feel confident in performing VTE assessments.

“Additional training has been provided to ensure our multi-disciplinary team are all working to the same standard to achieve our current VTE percentage.”

New emergency equipment trolleys

The deteriorating patient and resuscitation team have rolled out new trolleys at Sandwell and City this week.

All the emergency equipment trolleys are red however the paediatric/adult trollies have an additional top drawer for paediatric airway equipment.

With your new emergency equipment trolley you are supplied with a supply of serialised tamper proof seals. These need replacing following daily checks, a 2019 daily checklist which contain monthly checklists for the trolley, and defibrillator(s) in your area, plus additional checking spaces in the event of use. The checklists need to be stored in the pop out tray to enable accessibility, whilst tamper seal in situation.