Monthly archives: February 2019

Bleep system at Sandwell Hospital now working

The bleep system at Sandwell Hospital is now working once again.

If you have a radio that was deployed as part of business continuity, please ensure this is returned to the Security team as soon as possible.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

Staff from all disciplines take part in Unity full dress rehearsal

As many of you would surely have noticed there were many staff sporting green T-shirts around the Trust this week. We have had staff from all disciplines, implementers and members of the Unity team taking part in a major rehearsal of its functions in various areas of our Trust this week. We managed to rehearse in multiple departments and put Unity ‘to the test’ in high flow areas (such as AMU and ED), base wards and outpatient areas. We confirmed that multiple drugs could be transcribed using teams of doctors. This prepared the ward staff to perform their regular tasks including drug administration in a safe and secure manner. Clinical notes could be created, procedures and tests performed and the discharge process completed electronically.

A fundamental improvement in our daily processes is that all the above activities could be performed in a secure and traceable manner after confirming the patient’s identity using barcoded wristbands. Test patients also had investigations carried out, recorded and endorsed within Unity and this is a significant improvement to our daily working pattern. Having the added security of electronically verifying the patient’s identity and their specimens going to the laboratories is a significant advantage in helping to reduce clinical and procedural errors.

We have had a huge surge in the procurement and provision of workstations, laptops, printers and scanners alongside improvements in our Wi-Fi access. Feedback from the front line has been generally more positive on this occasion and issues with network black spots and complex workflows will be targeted in the coming weeks. A detailed analysis of the feedback will be put into a report in the near future and this will help guide us in targeting future resources and developments to new business processes. I am sure the outputs will be positive in either confirming what we already know but also in showing us where further focused developments will be required.

I would like to thank all staff, project team and IT staff who were actively involved in the rehearsal and look forward to further engagement with other departments and teams in forthcoming weeks to get the Trust ready for go-live.

#HellomynameisAsh, and I am the Chief Clinical Information Officer

#Unityiscoming

Boaters to open on Saturdays for trial period

Boaters Costa coffee shop at City Hospital will now be open on Saturday’s, 9am-2pm with effect from Saturday 16 February.

Note: The Saturday opening of Boaters will be trialled for 8 weeks.

For more information please contact dawn.bradnick@nhs.net.

Hit the road for Your Trust Charity

Are you looking for a challenge? Do you want to make a difference? Why not combine these and sign up for the 2019 Birmingham and Midlands Velo?

The 100 mile bike ride will take place on Sunday 12 May and Your Trust Charity have a number of spaces available for keen cyclists to join.

The ride starts in Birmingham City Centre and will take riders through Solihull, Warwickshire, Dudley and Sandwell, before finishing up in Coventry.

This is an opportunity for both seasoned and new riders to get in the saddle and raise vital funds for Your Trust Charity. The cost to take part is £40 and cyclists are asked to raise a minimum of £300 in sponsorship.

For more information or to book your place contact Amanda Winwood, email: amanda.winwood@nhs.net or call 0121 507 4847.

FDR day 3: Unity dress rehearsal success

Day 3 of the Unity full dress rehearsal (FDR) has been hailed a success  -with 72 per cent of colleagues saying they felt confident using Unity.

Unity, the new patient electronic patient record will be introduced later this year, and this week’s full dress rehearsal is already showing promising results.

Feedback from colleagues taking part in the FDR included:

• 72 per cent said there was enough communication in preparation for the FDR
• 69 per cent felt they were prepared and able to deliver what was expected of them
• 89 per cent reported they had enough support with issues raised.

There were some issues flagged up such as printing, with 50 per cent of users saying they were unable to do so when needed, whilst others reported that barcode scanners weren’t working as they should. We should note, though, that most issues were resolved quickly.

A big thank you to everyone who has worked hard to support the rehearsal this week as we continue on our journey to Unity.

Be sure to check out these videos of colleagues talking about the dress rehearsal in their areas.

Unity dress rehearsal continues to be a success

The final day of the Unity full dress rehearsal (FDR) has been hailed a success  –  with 72 per cent of colleagues saying they felt confident using the programme.

The new patient electronic patient record will be introduced later this year, and a three-day test run has already displayed promising results.

Feedback from users taking part in the FDR included:

• 72 per cent said there was enough communication in preparation for the FDR
• 69 per cent felt they were prepared and able to deliver what was expected of them
• 89 per cent reported they had enough support with issues raised

There were some issues flagged up such as printing, with 50 per cent of users saying they were unable to do so when needed, whilst others reported that barcode machines weren’t working as they should. We should note, though, that most issues were resolved quickly.

Katie Gray, Deputy Chief Operating Officer and Head of Unity Implementation  said: “We’ve had some marvellous feedback today. The teams are working well and they are receiving the right support when issues are raised.

“We have gained a tremendous amount of knowledge and learned so much, even from smaller clinics, such as the clinical nurse specialist clinic in respiratory medicine.

“We have had some issues with printing some labels and documents today and there are some problems with barcode scanners that will require further investigation.”

Meanwhile on the Medical Infusion Suite, Dorothy Lord, Ward Clerk, was pleased with how the dress rehearsal had progressed.

She said: “It’s our first FDR and we have been admitting patients, allocating them beds or chairs and it’s gone really well. It’s been quite straight forward. There’s been a couple of little issues but those will get sorted out.

“This has been a great experience before going live. It gives you the chance to ask questions if you’re not certain about something.”

Anne Rutland, Skin Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialist, also spoke about her experience using Unity. She said: “Initially, it has been challenging. The first time I looked at the Unity system on screen, it was quite scary. However, after working my way through it, I saw my second or third patient and I found it was getting easier. I think the system will make a real difference to everybody.”

Heartbeat: Leading professor joins AMU team for pioneering research

This year promises to bring a wealth of exciting opportunities to the acute medicine unit (AMU) as they welcome Professor Dan Lasserson to the team, whose aim is to help bring their research ambition to life.

Professor Dan Lasserson, Chair of Ambulatory Care at the University of Birmingham, has joined the AMU team as an honorary consultant in ambulatory medicine.

Speaking about his new role, he said: “I’m delighted to join the organisation and excited to work with the team.

“I will be working closely with Dr Sarb Clare to build up academic activities in acute medicine and contribute to innovations in acute care models. My particular interest is in acute ambulatory care, and in supporting more acute medical care to be undertaken in community settings, using point of care technology. This organisation is one of the leading trusts in the West Midlands for the use of point of care echo and ultrasound and so is the natural partner for acute care innovators and researchers.”

Dr Clare, Acute Medicine Consultant and Deputy Medical Director, added: “We are privileged to have Dan join our team. His knowledge and skills will help us carry out extensive research in ambulatory care, so that we can develop a new way of working, which will hopefully enable us to see patients more quickly and more importantly enable prompt diagnosis and treatments.

“Our vision is to bring ambulatory care to the community and upskill our partners, such as GPs and paramedics, so they can carry out ultrasounds and point of care diagnostics to examine and treat patients more quickly. With Professor Lasserson’s help, I truly believe that we will achieve that ambition.

“In May we will also welcome our first research fellow in acute medicine to support us in delivering our research projects.”

FDR day 2: Continued success at City and Sandwell

Following in the footsteps of a successful day one of full dress rehearsal on Monday, yesterday saw colleagues dressed in green descend on City Hospital and some outpatient areas in Sandwell to continue the work putting Unity through its paces. A big thank you to everyone who has worked hard to support the rehearsal this week as we continue on our journey to Unity.

Today (Wednesday 13 February), FDR continues at City Hospital outpatient clinics which you can see listed on Connect https://connect2.swbh.nhs.uk/trustindigital/unity/a-guide-to-final-dress-rehearsal/full-dress-rehearsal-locations/

We received valuable feedback from colleagues who took part in the dress rehearsal both on Monday and yesterday. We’re making sure that all the feedback is acted upon to ensure an even smoother process for colleagues taking part in FDR today.

Be sure to check out these videos of colleagues talking about the dress rehearsal in their areas.

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Domestic abuse training update: 9 April

We are hosting a domestic abuse training update on Tuesday 9 April at Oldbury Health Centre, Albert Street, Oldbury (floor 2 – seminar rooms A and B).

The training is aimed at health visitors, midwives and children’s therapists. However, any patient facing practitioner can benefit from attending this update including ED, sexual health and neonatal services.

The session will be divided into two parts:

• Part one: 1pm-2.45pm – Domestic abuse update delivered by domestic abuse lead nurse.
• Part two: 3pm-4pm – Training to use domestic abuse stalking and harassment risk assessment tool. Delivered by independent domestic abuse advisor from Black Country Women’s Aid.

Note: The training would be most beneficial when attending the complete session however, if you have recently completed domestic abuse training and just wish to attend part two please feel free to book onto part two only. Please stipulate this when booking.

For more information and to book your place, please email amanda.millard@nhs.net.

BME staff network meeting: 13 February

The BME staff network will be hosting their first meeting of 2019 On Wednesday 13 February at Sandwell Education Centre – Room 7, 2pm-4pm.

The meeting will be facilitated by new vice chair, Mark Haynes.

Following this meeting, the BME staff network meetings will be hosted on the following dates, times and locations in 2019:

• 10 April, 1pm-3pm, City Hospital, Anne Gibson Board Room
• 19 June, 2pm-4pm, Sandwell Education Centre – Room 9
• 28 August, 2pm-4pm, City Hospital, Anne Gibson Board Room
• 16 October, 2pm-4pm, Sandwell Education Centre – Room 15

For more information please contact d.mighty@nhs.net.