Monthly archives: February 2019
LGBT History Month – peace, activism and reconciliation
February marks the start of LGBT History Month with this year’s theme being peace, activism and reconciliation.
The overall aim of LGBT History Month is to promote equality and diversity by increasing the visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, their history, lives and their experiences. The month aims to raise awareness of the LGBT community.
Our LGBT Staff Network meets every two months to discuss upcoming news and events regarding LGBT – an open invite is extended to all those who self-define as LGBT and allies.
Please see below upcoming meeting dates for 2019:
- 14 February, 10am-12pm, Sandwell Education Centre – Room 15
- 11 April, 2pm-4pm, City Hospital – Anne Gibson Committee Room
- 20 June, 10am-12pm, Sandwell Education Centre – Room 9
- 29 August, 2pm-4pm, City Hospital – Anne Gibson Committee Room
- 17 October, 10am-12pm, Sandwell Education Centre – Room 15
For more information, please contact swbh.lgbt@nhs.net.
Barbara Daisy funeral arrangements: 11 February
Barbara Daisy known to many as “Daisy” sadly passed away last Wednesday following a short illness. Daisy was a much loved ward clerk at City Hospital for the last 16 years.
Her funeral will to take place on Monday 11 February at 10.45am, Wrottesley Park Wolverhampton, WV8 2HE where a natural burial will take place.
Those who wish to attend are asked to do so in bright colours and are requested not to wear black clothing. The funeral cortege is scheduled to pass City Hospital between 9:50am-10am.
It has been requested that people do not bring flowers. However, if you would like to make a small donation towards a bench and fruit trees this would be very much appreciated.
Alternatively, donations can be made to ward clerks on AMU at City. There will also be collection boxes at the funeral.
Heartbeat: Stay well this winter – follow the 5 moments for hand hygiene
Winter doesn’t just bring with it cold weather and dark nights, it’s also a time when some of the most prevalent illnesses and ailments return to hospitals around the country and it’s our job to not only protect ourselves, but also our patients.
Although we achieved herd immunity (80 per cent of colleagues vaccinated against flu), we still need to take precautions to limit the spread of any infections. One of the best ways to protect both yourself and our patients is by following the basic principles of hand hygiene.
Whilst many people think that a quick spray of alcohol hand gel is sufficient to sanitise your hands as you go on or off the wards – these are designed to be used in addition to traditional handwashing with soap and water.
This is key to stopping the spread of infections, especially during winter.
The ’5 Moments for Hand Hygiene’ is a World Health Organisation (WHO) initiative encouraging everyone who provides care to consider the risk of transmission of infection from health care workers’ hands.
You should wash your hands in the 5 moments below:
- Before touching a patient
- Before clean/aseptic procedures
- After body fluid exposure/risk
- After touching a patient
- After touching patient surroundings
For more information on infection prevention and control, contact the team on ext. 5900.
New devices bring Unity to life
When Unity is deployed it will mean greater use of computers, whether that’s taking observations or making notes during an outpatient’s appointment.
Therefore we are currently in the midst of a roll out of brand new devices to clinical areas which will enable all colleagues to make the best use of Unity.
Keep an eye out in your clinical areas for new devices and yellow notices which mark the new equipment.
Amongst desktops, you will also now see a range of brand new workstations on wheels (WOWs) as well as barcode scanners and WiFi label printers making their way to an area near you.
If you have any queries about the devices you have been allocated, contact the Unity team on email Unity.cutover@nhs.net.
Collecting ordered medication from City pharmacy
From Monday 11 February, pharmacy at City Hospital will be introducing a new system to collect ordered medication, after pharmacy has closed after 5.30pm on weekdays and after 3pm on weekends and bank holidays.
All wards have been issued with a key that gives access to an individual ward locker situated in the pharmacy locker room. This room is off the main corridor, just past pharmacy (on the same side) on the left.
Swipe access is used to gain access to the room. The lockers will not be used for controlled drugs or fridge items.
If you have lost your key or cannot gain access then please call the on-call pharmacist.
For more information please contact the pharmacy department on ext. 5259.
Ward training dates to switch over to Nutilis Clear
Our Trust is changing its thickening agent used for dysphagia (swallowing difficulties) from the starch based Nutilis Powder to a gum based clear product, Nutilis Clear, bringing many advantages.
Nutilis Clear will be introduced into the Trust across all 3 sites on the 12 March.
Please note the mixing instructions and scoop size will be different, along with the descriptor.
Patients identified for this product will have a sticker placed in their drug chart. Please ensure this product is prescribed on patients’ TTO on discharge.
In the run up to the switchover, training will be available on wards on the following dates:
- 25 February-28 February, Sandwell Hospital
- 1 March, Rowley Regis Hospital
- 4 March-7 March, City Hospital
- 8 March, Rowley Regis Hospital
If you have any queries regarding the change, you can contact the SLT department on 0121 507 4486, option 2 for more information.
Fizz Free February
Could you and your family give up fizzy drinks for February?
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 Dr Nick Makwana, Consultant Paediatrician, speaking about the importance of Fizz Free February and the negative impact fizzy drinks can have on children and young people.
Save money, save your teeth and stay healthy, join us in #FizzFreeFeb
Roadshows build the buzz for Unity
The clinical informatics team continue to hold roadshows on how Unity will support the safety plan. Sessions at City and Sandwell both have had over 150 colleagues in attendance each day.
There is a real buzz around the Trust about Unity and how it will improve patient safety with the roadshows attracting a variety of colleagues.
Come along and visit one of the roadshows this week to discuss how Unity will affect your role or how it will support patient safety.
| 5 February | SGH | Costa Out Patients Department |
| 6 February | City | BTC 1st Floor |
| 7 February | City | Maternity |
The roadshows are supported by the clinical informatics nurses, informatics ward clerk, work stream leads, trainers, testers and champions. Between everyone there is a wealth of knowledge waiting to be shared with you.
Drug charts in Unity
By Dominic LeGros, Informatics Nurse
I’m back to talk Unity again. This week, I’m going to focus on one of the most critical bits of paper (or cardboard) we currently use; the drug chart.
Handwritten drug charts are one of the single biggest concentrations of potential errors, or they have a habit of going into hiding when it’s time for a drug round (it’s not always in pharmacy!).
Let’s look at potential sources of error; the first, and most concerning, is inappropriate abbreviations. The best example of this is “units”, if a hastily written “u” is used in its place, the consequences can be severe – insulin errors are a never event…
Another paper pitfall comes from drugs with similar names, especially when brand names get involved; consider Parvolex and Pabrinex (n-acetylcysteine and vitamin B/C high potency), I have seen one prescribed in place of the other on more than one occasion.
Dosages can get muddled up, is that a 125, or 12.5? Was it milligrams or micrograms? Easily confused, especially once the drug chart is wearing a cup of coffee (or two).
So, how will Unity help?
Legibility is an obvious gain, no dodgy handwriting, no smudged ink – just easy to read text.
Abbreviations can only be used in prescribing if they are allowed within Unity, most parts of a prescription that tend to get abbreviated are replaced with drop-down lists in Unity so that correct terms are used.
Our EPMA (electronic prescribing and medication administration) team have configured Unity to accept only generic drug names for the vast majority of drugs (there are select drugs where prescribing by brand name is good practice – this is reflected in Unity) as generic names are usually less likely to be mixed up. In addition, Unity uses a system called “tall man” letters to help identify drugs with names that may get mixed up e.g. cefoTAXime vs cefTRIAXone.
Dosing errors will be reduced by something called “order sentences”, these include all of the information required for common prescriptions of a given drug, such as “paracetamol, 1g tablets by mouth, four times a day PRN, for pain” rather than having to select each element of the prescription. Unity will also (where available) offer age appropriate order sentences.
Finally, the incredible disappearing drug chart will be a thing of the past. A major advantage of electronic records is the ability to access them from anywhere meaning that a chart can be reviewed without needing to physically remove it from the clinical area and interrupting a drug round.
#HellomynameisDom, and I am one of your informatics Nurses
#Unityiscoming
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