Monthly archives: June 2019

Sign up to smoking ban warden support rota

To support the smooth implementation of going smokefree, colleagues are being invited to sign up to the smoking ban warden support rota. The rota runs between 5 -12 July, with one hour slots through the day from 7am to 8pm, across City, Sandwell, Rowley and Leasowes sites. Colleagues are asked to pick a slot where they will walk round their chosen site to support smoking wardens in advising anyone smoking or about to smoke that we are a no smoking site. T-shirts and badges are available for colleagues on the rota. To sign up please contact Director of Communications ruth.wilkin@nhs.net.

Dates of the Smokefree Warden Support Rota briefings:

• Tuesday 2 July: Meeting Room 5, Education Centre (1pm – 2pm) Conference call at 5pm: Dial in details – Tel: 08448090930, Participants code – 43449607#
• Wednesday 3 July: Anne Gibson Board Room (12pm – 1pm) Conference call at 5pm: Dial in details – Tel: 08448090930, Participants code – 43449607#

Smoking Ban Warden Support Rota

Staffside Convenor and Unison branch secretary Chris Rickards has signed up for the rota, she explained why: “We are supporting the smoking ban as it will help people make healthier choices and improve wellbeing. The Trust has done a lot of work to assist people who want to give up smoking, and we hope that everyone supports this ban, and does their bit to show their support. Fresh air is wonderful to breathe in, and secondhand smoke is not, so we have to work together to make this important change across our Trust.”

Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 28 June

This week we had the Clinical Leadership Executive (CLE). You will remember each month this meeting brings together our clinical group directors, group directors of nursing, and group directors of operations, alongside the executive team and our staff-side convenor. Two subjects dominated discussions, and neither of them were smokefree (of which more below).

Every single amber or red rated risk in our Trust was reviewed for the accuracy of the risk statement and accuracy of the risk score. We did that so that the Board next week can have an overview of the key risks faced by you in your work and our patients in their care. The monthly Risk Management Committee, on which you have a representative, will now take that work and make sure that it is reflected on Safe-Guard. Over the rest of this year, we will be working across the Trust to manage risk, and so there will be a focus on the actions to be taken to reduce risk scores. Directorates and groups will be held to account for their risk management, including the velocity with which risks are resolved. This is clearly good practice. The focus comes from a perception, the accuracy of which will vary, that we are better at registering risks than mitigating them. You will know that earlier this year every single red rated estate risk was addressed, as part of our recovery plan from the Carillion issues, and I am pleased to note that by August we expect to have stabilised the water systems in the Birmingham Treatment Centre sufficient to remove the longstanding monitoring devices.

One of the big risks we face, and the second topic CLE discussed in detail was violence and aggression, and both staff and other patients fears that come with that. A new taskforce to address these issues is being chaired by Rachel Barlow. Among its tasks will be to implement our commitment of body-worn cameras as a deterrent in some instances and places. At the same time Paula Gardner, our chief nurse, is championing the work done recently on so-called “purple patients”. These are patients whose needs and/or behaviour are most disruptive and distressing to others. The ‘Triple D’ team and senior nurses are available 7 days a week to support local staff in techniques to manage the very individual nature of each of these patients. For other patients, categorised by our nurse leaders as “red patients” additional focused care support should be available. Fill rates vary for these responsibilities, and across the Trust we will now, and immediately, adopt the practice used successfully in our community wards. Patients needing focused care will get support from substantive ward staff, with bank cover being provided for other duties and patients within the ward. Our “red patients” are complex and have multiple needs and so it is right that our established experienced staff are there to support them.

Of course the launch next Friday – at 7am – of our Trust-wide, all sites, all people ban on smoking is the source of much discussion everywhere. A quite quiet majority of people agree with the ban. A number of colleagues disagree, or believe that our support for vaping is ill-judged. In supporting vaping we are following the clinical advice of Public Health England, and have had that reviewed by our own clinical leaders under the direction of our Medical Director, David Carruthers. It is really important that if you are reading this and need support to manage patients and visitors once the ban starts that you speak up. There are written guides and simulation videos available. Crucially we need to talk to patients on arrival and on admission about their alternatives to smoking – inhalators, nicotine replacement and access to vaping. We should try and avoid a first discussion when someone seeks to light up. That said, from Monday fining will start in dummy form, and go live from Friday 5^th.  This gives us chance to test our cameras and make sure we can spot places where people may try and hide to float the ban. I met earlier today with our security staff to talk through their role in helping to enforce the ban. They will work alongside all of us, plus our wardens and the private specialist company who are on our sites now helping us to make this stick.

For a guide to the ban, please see the attached guidance: Smokefree Guidance

There are a couple of other deadlines that I thought it would be helpful to highlight. Star Awards nominations close very soon. Please can I encourage you to get yours in? We have so much good practice that it would be a real shame to miss out on your suggestions for our very best. In the same vein, PDRs are due to be completed this weekend. There are a number of colleagues outstanding their PDR and we have work to do to close that issue out so that we can start our moderation programme. Remember a 2 is the standard score we would expect, with high performing individuals against their written objectives achieving a 3, and outstanding delivery of those objectives rating a 4.  It is really important to be clear that a PDR score is not a ‘face fits’ measure, nor a judgment of your doing of the job per se. The rating is focused on your objectives – which have been completed and how. We are ahead of the wider NHS in how we do this and many of our ideas now feature in the national People Plan. With a 40 per cent growth in training budget and a commitment to grow that further over the next two years, it is really important that your PDR is a good discussion on the present and the future.

Finally, as a Trust that provides general practice, we had a vote in the recent CCG decision about whether to keep Sandwell and West Birmingham together in one commissioning function. We had been vocal and committed as a Board to that option, because we believe that it works best for care integration for our population, many of whom will use Midland Met when it opens in 2022. I am pleased to report that 71 per cent of those voting supported that option, and so I very much expect that the CCG Governing Body on Wednesday next will confirm the NHS England that that is the future shape we will be working alongside. We have a common vision to move away from commissioning, whereby money comes to us based on how many times we talk to a patient or how long they stay with us. We want to use funds locally to bias investments towards outcomes and effectiveness, and the vote gives us a platform from which to begin next year to make those changes, changes that, once again, we might expect the wider NHS will adopt in time.

Attached are this week’s IT stats: IT Performance Stats 28 June 2019

#hellomynameisToby

Smokefree branding installation at Birmingham Treatment Centre

Work will be undertaken on Monday 1 July between 12pm and 4pm to install smokefree branding on the side of the Birmingham Treatment Centre.

Please be aware that the taxi pull in area will be closed as a mobile platform will be in use. There will also be areas of the pavement closed off as health and safety precautions.

Please take care where you can see work taking place.

Introduction to cardiology study day

An introduction to cardiology study day is taking place on 30 October from 9am till 4pm in the Anne Gibson Board Room at City Hospital.

Topics covered:

• Anatomy and Physiology of the Heart
• Conduction System
• Sinus Rhythm and common arrhythmias
• Recording a 12 lead ECG
• ECG interpretation
• Acute Coronary Syndromes
• Cardiac Drugs
• Introduction to Advanced Life Support (A-E assessment)

Everyone is welcome and if you would like to attend, please contact Laura Taylor on ext. 4984 or email laura.fitzgerald1@nhs.net

ESR production service downtime: 28-29 June

Users are advised that the ESR Production Service, e-Learning, ESRBI, ESR Data Warehouse, ESR Portal will be withdrawn at 6pm on Friday 28 June. The service is expected to become available by 8pm on Saturday 29 June.

Users are asked to note the 6pm closure time for the online service on 28 June and co-operation is requested to ensure that all users are logged off by 6pm. Please ensure all notifications are actioned ahead of the downtime and do not access the system until the stated end of the downtime period.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Star Awards 2019: Nominations close today!

Nominations for the upcoming Star Awards close TODAY. Don’t miss this opportunity to celebrate the great work of your colleagues.

The awards programme recognises and rewards colleagues for their extraordinary acts of compassion, innovation and quality of care.

With over 20 categories to choose from, please take the time to nominate your teams and colleagues for the things they do that go above and beyond what is expected. Details of all of the categories is available on Connect.

It’s easier than ever to get your nominations in this year:

• You can complete a paper nomination form which you can download by clicking here.
• You can send in a video nomination for free to  comms@nhs.net via www.wetransfer.com Choose go to free. When doing the recording remember to state clearly who you are and the name of the person/team you are nominating.
• You can complete the online form on Connect.

If you have any questions regarding the Star Awards, please contact the communications team on 0121 507 5303, email swbh.comms@nhs.net or visit our dedicated Star Awards 2019 page on Connect.

Updated parking arrangements – 1 July

As you are aware, work has been on going to ensure arrangements are in place for alternative parking arrangements to offset the loss of parking capacity while the development of the new health centre and multi storey car parks (MSCP) are built at Sandwell and City.

The health centre development is due to start in the summer, which means the new arrangements for parking at Sandwell will come into place from 1 July.

Changes at Sandwell Hospital:

• Please note that the Little Lane car park opposite Sandwell A&E (All Saints Way car park) will be re-allocated to patient and visitor parking from Saturday 29 June. Staff passes will only work on this car park out of hours from this date (6pm to 6am).
• Colleagues who are transferring to New Square from 1 July^, passes will be available for collection today (Thursday 27 June) in the ground floor foyer of Trinity House from 11.30am – 2:30pm
• The Occasional User car park scheme will be closed to new applications and top ups after 28 June, however existing credits can still be used until 31
• The Pay As You Park scheme goes live from 1 July. Applications for this permit can be made at Sandwell Main Reception and BTC Reception at City after 1 July. Pay As You Park will be £3 per day and there will be no maximum usage limits.
• Annual travel passes (bus/train/metro) are available to staff with a standard discount of 5 per cent. A limited number of National Express products are available with a 50 per cent discount for the first year for staff willing to give up their car parking permit. Please contact audrey.hender@nhs.net.

A car share app and car share permit (at reduced cost) will be available from 1 July. For details of the car share app, contact francesca.silcocks@nhs.net. For details of the car share permit scheme contact diane.alford@nhs.net.

Heartbeat: Library service takes the reigns on patient information

A new process is in place for colleagues who wish to update an existing patient information leaflet or order a new one.

Requests should go directly to the library service and the team will then work on producing the leaflet by liaising directly with the medical illustration department.

A proof of the leaflet will be sent to the person who has requested the document and it will need to go through the approval process, which includes reviews from patients.

Nicola Ager, Librarian, said: “We aim to respond to the initial request between six to ten working days and once we have completed checks on the first draft, it will be sent for design.

“We would encourage departments to first check resources on Eido which can be found on Connect under Corporate Systems and BMJ Best Practice can be found on the Library and Information page on Connect.

“In particular surgical patient information leaflets can be found on Eido and downloaded for free. The BMJ Best Practice patient information leaflets focus more on diseases rather than procedures but can also be downloaded for free (NHS OpenAthens account required).

“We’d also urge departments to check the renewal dates on existing leaflets so that they are not left in a situation where they are urgently requesting an updated version after the document has expired.”

If you would like to create or update a patient leaflet please call ext. 3587.

How Unity will impact integrated care – respiratory medicine

As we share data across acute and community settings Unity will support and enhance our pathways for managing multi-morbidity. The right information across care settings as new models of care are developed will mean siloes are broken down not only between organisations, but within them too. This will ensure the entire pathway of care is visible to all our stakeholders with a legitimate  relationship with the patient.

Be sure to check out this video by Arvind Rajasekaran, Consultant, Respiratory Physician who shares his view of how Unity will impact integrated care.

Heartbeat: Donation to maternity in memory of baby Callie

A Black Country family who sadly lost their little girl Callie (newborn baby) born in 2016 returned to City Hospital this month with two very special surprises to share with the team who had shown them so much compassion in their time of need.

Baby Callie Francine Whitehouse was born on the 1 June 2016 to mom Krystal and dad Matt Whitehouse at 38 weeks, but the joyful moment was shattered when the parents learnt that Callie had a very weak heartbeat. Sadly despite all of the efforts of the team in maternity, Callie passed away shortly after.

In memorial, friends and family rallied together and began a fundraiser for Baby Callie, and within weeks this had topped £2,000. And in remembrance her parents decided that they wanted to make a donation to the maternity department as a thank you for all the support and as a lasting tribute to their beautiful baby daughter.

Making the donation, Krystal shared her thoughts, “As a family we just wanted to say thank you to all the staff, they were amazing and in memory of Callie we wanted to see if there was anything we could do to help make the experience of other parents that much better. The money we’ve donated will go towards making the Jasmine Suite a little more inviting and comfortable, we spent quite a lot of time in there so we would love to make it a little more special for other families.”

Alongside, the surprise donation, Krystal and Matt introduced staff to Etta, their daughter who had been born on Halloween 2017 and delivered by the same midwife who had delivered Callie. Meeting the family again, Bereavement Midwife, Mary Molloy said: “I had the privilege of meeting Callie and supporting Krystal, Matt and family at the most devastating time of their lives.

“We remained in touch and I had the pleasure of supporting Krystal and Matt during their next pregnancy and was delighted to be present at the birth of Callie’s little sister Etta.

“We are very grateful to Krystal and Matt for their very generous donation, which we have spent on making the Jasmine suite more homely for our bereaved families.”