Monthly archives: July 2019
Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 19 July
The physicians vs. surgeons cricket game on Monday did not match the excitement of the England and Wales’ team victory on Sunday, nor the netball, but it was nonetheless a great social event. Many congratulations to the winning captain Farooq Wandroo and his team (which in bit part included me), and commiserations to the surgical team. The annual Trust game against local GPs is yet to be scheduled for early September, but team slots will be available.
Meanwhile a similar competitive spirit is now needed to get us ready for Unity. I wanted to outline in plain terms what is now needed but also thank the very many staff in all teams making huge efforts to have us ready. Today’s Digital Committee, with representatives from each clinical group, and the clinical workstream leads too, reflected on progress, but also acknowledged the work to be done in August to be ready for September 21st when cutover begins. This coming Friday our Board’s digital committee will review progress against our agreed Go Live Criteria and that programme of review continues to the Board’s meeting at the start of September.
It is good news that the Pulse remote access solution is not only proving more reliable than what it replaced, but also means that key interfaces like home reporting for radiology are now possible. You can also access the play domain remotely now. The replacement N3 lines are in, and we will have HSCN in place in full before unity go live. Over the next fortnight almost £1m worth of devices arrive and are deployed, and that kicks off intensive connection and printer testing in August. At the same time our WiFi programme is virtually complete and in mid-August we will publish heat maps of coverage to demonstrate that fully. In the first week, this week, of our fortnight of additional dress rehearsal no WiFI issues have inhibited practice. Meanwhile we have solved the Windows 7 Citrix issue, and tap on/tap off will resolve the time it takes to get into the Unity product. Put more simply, the technical issues we have faced do not look likely to defer go live. From August 10th we will have a 7-day First Line IT service backing up your work, and with Go Live comes a large back office team from Cerner who will assist us during and beyond the start of the Unity product.
The big push now is to make sure that everyone knows how to use the system optimally. And that we can prove that to ourselves and others. That proof, or self-assessment, is composed of several parts:
- At the start of August we will re-launch the CapMan product which is the main way in which patients moving around our sites will be acknowledged on the system. Over 1000 roles will need to complete brief e-training on that product.
- By early August we need to finish the individual competency assessments launched with the 28-day challenge in April. About half of those who need to finish that have done so, so far. Are you missing this?
- Our team and Trust readiness criteria are well advanced, and reflect external advice. We are aiming to have met 80% of those by early August, and are confident presently of achieving about 70%. Group leadership teams are verifying workflows this weekend to make sure that we have in place all of the right Standard Operating Procedures and Quick Reference Guides.
- That leaves the individual team competencies, and the simulation exercises that sit behind them. These were launched on July 9th in QIHD team and the films and detail will come out on Tuesday in an all employee email. I want to emphasise that this work is critical to Go Live. Knowing and practicing are different things, and we want to ensure that key teams have run through together what the new system means.
On July 12th we released the leave bar for many teams in the Trust. The exception was Gold and Silver teams. By Monday we will have in place staffing rosters for the Go Live period. That will allow us to confirm staffing rotas for our Super Users and Digital Champions too. Finally we aim on Thursday to make decisions on additional staffing in emergency care areas to take account of the slower pace of work inevitable with Go Live. Taken together, these things will allow us to confirm staffing for late September and early October Trust wide.
There are literally dozens of events and moments dotted through August to give you chance to ask questions and speak up about Unity. Please take the opportunity to access all of those resources on Connect and the face to face expert advice we have generated. For over 18 months we have been almost ready to Go Live, and with our underlying technology now improved, we continue to believe that the Trust can achieve the date of September 23rd that I announced on June 4th. It is truly helpful for people to raise specific questions and concerns that we can address, or which might have been missed. That is why the confirmatory decision is in early September, but I must reiterate that it is the people and training position that we have to get focus upon at line manager level in coming weeks. The technology should be ready. We need to be ready too.
I almost completed a message without mentioning Smoke Free! Last week I indicated that new signage would be up this week and that rollout is well advanced. Analysis continues of ward’s take up of the various alternatives to smoking so that we can best support our patients to quit or take a break from smoking. Later this month we will launch further support and prizes associated with quitting smoking or switching to vaping; look out for details of those here and in our Communication Bulletin. Summer rain will bring new challenges to implementing the ban, but the better air and cleaner grounds we are seeing around us are I think encouraging – not just as a public health change, but as an affirmation of what we can achieve when we work together. The inference to Unity is obvious – even down to the T shirts.
My message last week had some useful replies posted on it. I am aware that right now we have a variety of outsourcing and tender activity going on. The most immediate is in patient transport where the CCG (not the Trust) have decided to put out a bid process. But we have upcoming decisions to make in estates too, and in one or two clinical services where our role is fragile. It is absolutely the case that the Trust will look to retain services and retain them in house where it is clear we can provide a great quality service, where there is a dependency to our aim to become the best integrator of care in the NHS, and where other services will not need to be cut back to pay for losses on contracts. The Board is not ideological about this – we are simply practical; What counts is what works, to borrow a phrase. So I can reassure Martin and many others that we will issue a bid for patient transport, which is a service we value. In that case what is at issue is the almost £1m loss that the service is currently run at. It will be for others to decide whether that loss is one that the local NHS will fund, or whether another NHS body running the service can reduce that loss. The NHS is moving from competition to more collaboration, and I very much hope that as we lead that charge we can move to a system in Sandwell and western Birmingham where the finite funds available are diverted ever more to those actions which improve health outcomes and public health. I look forward to meeting the Patient Transport team in coming weeks to discuss that further.
Attached are this week’s IT stats: IT Performance Stats 19 July 2019
#hellomynameisToby
Heartbeat: Mum says thanks to caring ED staff
Losing a child is devastating, and for mum Teresa Spencer, it was just that, but through her grief she was determined to make sure that those who fought to save her daughter Natalie’s life were thanked, and nominated for a Star Award.
Natalie collapsed at her mum’s house after spending a pleasant evening, and after receiving emergency care from West Midlands Ambulance Service paramedics, was rushed to City hospital where A&E colleagues Dr Mohamed Khan, Sister Pamela Bradley-Lake, Charge Nurse Terry Ma and Staff Nurse Mohamed Saleem battled to save her life. Sadly they lost the fight and Natalie died.
Teresa said: “As you can imagine, everything that night is a blur, but I do remember after coming to City Hospital that a team was working on Natalie, trying so hard to save her. My sister and I were shown into the visitor’s room, and the staff on duty were fantastic, trying to reassure us the best they could, offering us refreshments, and being so kind. Sadly at 26 minutes past midnight on 14 April, my beautiful girl passed away.
“I then remember being told that Natalie had passed, and you can imagine the pain my sister and I felt, and still do, but all I wanted was to hold my daughter, and the staff made that possible for me, and gave me as much time as I needed, which was very kind. My heartfelt thanks go out to the staff on duty in A&E that evening.”
Following Natalie’s funeral a collection was made and Teresa was pleased to donate £100 to Your Trust charity in memory of Natalie.
Heartbeat: Baby temperatures the focus with launch of Project Thermo
A new poster campaign is to be launched across the labour, antenatal and post-natal recovery wards following learnings attained over the course of 2018. It is hoped that the changes will help not only help keep babies safer and healthier but reduce admittance rate for newly born children.
The ‘Project Thermo’ posters are a joint project between maternity and the NNU following the result of a national programme of work initiated under patient safety to identify harm leading to term admission. ATAIN (Avoiding Term Admissions Into Neonatal units) has been focusing on the admission of term babies in neonatal unit due to low temperature.
“Babies can be susceptible to hypothermia after birth, which can lead to neonatal admission.” Explains Dr. Rabia Zahid of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, joined by Dr Ashwini Bilagi, Vikaranth Venugupalan and Nicola Robinson. “The idea of Project Thermo is checks and actions that reduce the chances of sepsis and respiratory distress by keeping a baby’s temperature in the normothermic range – which is between 36.5-37.50°C.”
Records show that 20 per cent of babies admitted to City Hospital’s neonatal unit with respiratory distress in 2018 had mild hypothermia.
Actions that are being promoted include having effective skin to skin between the baby and it’s mother, promptly adding a baby hat and covering any newborn to reduce heat loss and educating parents as to the potential risks.
The reduction of admissions also means that mother and baby avoid being separated which has additional important benefits.
“Mothers and babies have physiological and emotional need to be together especially in the hours and days following birth which is important for the physiological stability of the baby and the beginning of maternal infant interaction,” confirms Rabia. “Overwhelming evidence that separation of the baby and mother so soon after the birth interrupts the normal bonding process, which can have a profound and lasting effect on maternal mental health, breastfeeding and long term morbidity for mother and child care.”
Unity go-live annual leave update
In his Friday Message on 12 July, Chief Executive, Toby Lewis further outlined plans regarding annual leave arrangements for the go-live of Unity.
Teams that are seen to be most important to the safe use of Unity have now been identified. These teams have been labelled gold and silver. The list of gold and silver teams is attached. If you are not a member of one of those teams, the temporary bar in having annual and study leave agreed has been lifted.
Staffing levels within the gold and silver teams are now being agreed for the go-live period and leave restriction reductions will be confirmed very soon.
Relocation of electric vehicle charge point at Sandwell
The electric vehicle charge point at Sandwell Hospital has now been relocated to the car park opposite the diabetes centre.
Note: Please ensure that this bay is only used for electric vehicles that are on charge.
The bay will be painted this week so please look out for further notices.
For more information on electric vehicle charging at the Trust please visit https://connect2.swbh.nhs.uk/estates/sustainability/electric-vehicle-charging/
Heartbeat: Nurses receive on-the-job toxicology training
Clinical colleagues have developed a new training programme which will teach nurses how to care for patients who have overdosed on medication.
Clinicians from the City Hospital-based National Poisons Information Service, the alcohol service, and the acute medical unit (AMU) at City, have worked together to create the four-week course for band 5 and 6 nurses working in those specialties.
It will involve them attending one study day a week with the sessions delivered by experienced AMU Sisters, Marsha Hooper, Hannah Ireland, and Charlotte Street, along with Michael Beech, Specialist in Poisons Information, who have also developed the training manual.
The sessions, which started in early June, cover common poisonings and how to care for patients who have intentionally or accidentally taken these medications or substances. It is for nurses who have not previously had toxicology training and is being carried out in cohorts of around six to eight nurses at a time.
Charlotte said: “Nursing is a lifelong learning career. We have to ensure that our knowledge is constantly up-to-date so that we deliver high quality, evidenced-based care to our patients. Undertaking and completing this course will give the nurses confidence in caring for patients who have been admitted following an intentional or accidental overdose and acute alcohol withdrawal.
“Patients who have been admitted under the toxicology speciality will benefit from being looked after by nurses who have a greater insight in the field.”
She added: “During the four-week course, nurses will have to complete 150 hours working alongside toxicology consultants and nurses to achieve competencies.
“During the study days the nurses will also be visiting the toxicology laboratory and the National Poisons Information Service.”
Senior Sister, Claire Obiakor, based within AMU at City, Dr Sally Bradberry, Director of NPIS Birmingham and the West Midlands Poisons Unit, Consultant Clinical Toxicologists Dr Muhammad Elamin and Dr Neelsuraj Patel have all supported the development of the course, with input from Senior Sister, Arlene Copland from the alcohol service, as the course includes the care and management of acute alcohol withdrawal.
Critical care at City returning to their ground floor ward
Critical care at City Hospital will be returning to their unit on the ground floor main spine of City Hospital from Monday 22 July following the completion of renovations to their unit.
The move will include the transfer of all patients back from their temporary home on D16 back to the critical care unit on the ground floor from Monday.
All current telephone numbers and contacts for critical care at City will remain the same .
We apologise for any inconvenience during the move.
For further information on the planned move contact Dean Farrington on ext. 5098 or email. Dean.farrington@nhs.net
Heartbeat: Trust-supported youth offending service scoops national award
Congratulations to the Sandwell Youth Offending Service for winning the Youth Justice of the Year Award at the 2019 Shine a Light Awards, which celebrate innovation and best practice in supporting children and young people’s speech, language and communication development.
The service, which is based in Tipton, employs the support of our children’s therapies team. It was recognised for ensuring that the speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) of the young people they work with are considered at every stage, from police officers working with those on caution through to others serving long custodial sentences.
Claire Westwood joined the SWB family in 2014. Along with her colleague Jordanne Doody, who is currently on maternity leave, she works for the Sandwell Youth Offending Service two days a week as part of her role. “It’s our job to receive referrals and to do a communication assessment,” explained Claire.
“Around 60 per cent of young offenders have speech, language or communication needs. That involves difficulty understanding what’s said to them, remembering what’s said to them, expressing themselves and social skills, like being able to have a conversation, being able to make appropriate friendships and being assertive rather than aggressive.
“I assess all of those skills and will do some intervention sessions with the young people to try to improve their skills. I also do lots of training with schools, social workers, youth offending staff and police officers to help them understand the young people’s needs.”
The work of Claire and her colleagues was recognised at the Shine a Light Awards, which were organised by learning company Pearson, in partnership with the Communication Trust. The ceremony took place in London and was hosted Sally Phillips, a comic actress and writer whose eldest son was born with Down’s syndrome.
“The manager of the youth offending team, Michael Botham, thought it would be good to nominate us for this award because we’ve worked really hard on improving access to speech therapy for young offenders, and also improving their skills and supporting them,” said Claire.
“We went down to London and we won the Youth Justice of the Year Award. It was a whole day event and it was really good. It was nice to feel recognised by others for the work that we do because we work really hard.”
The team were up against others from across the country but were chosen as the winners for successfully demonstrating how their work had changed the lives of young people. “There was a 16-year-old who had undiagnosed Asperger’s syndrome which we were able to pick up on and support him to understand that, and also help the court to understand what that means for him and how that might have affected what happened.
“Another case study they mentioned was about a young man with learning difficulties. We supported the professionals around him to engage with him so that he wouldn’t breach his order and end up getting in even more trouble for being late to appointments or for not taking on some of the information that might have been delivered to him.”
Medication safety update: July 2019
The medicines safety team based within the pharmacy department will circulate important medicines related information and updates using the banner ‘Did you know?’ Content on current drug alerts, drug safety and prescribing advice will also be added to the pharmacy Connect page https://connect2.swbh.nhs.uk/pharmacy/.
‘Did you know?’ is in the form of quick bites of information and is a tool to use amongst your local teams to share learning and awareness of key medicines issues.
For details please see Did you know July 2019 ward bulletin
If you require any additional information or support with the topics, speak to your local pharmacy team or contact the medicines safety team swbh.mso@nhs.net.
Gym closure at City for refurbishment
Our gym City Hospital is now closed until further notice for refurbishment.
In the interim, if you are interested in joining the Sandwell gym based in Trinity House please contact jatinder.sekhon@nhs.net for further information.
The gym facility will be returning for all colleagues to enjoy in the future once all work has been completed as part of the refurbishment.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
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