Monthly archives: July 2019

Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 5 July

Happy Birthday NHS! Today marks the 71^st birthday of our service. With age should come wisdom and experience, but also a belief that all things are possible. So read on…

Today is also the start of our complete smoking ban. The ban is important because smoking kills.  Before it kills it harms your health. While it does that it harms the health of people around you. We work together on small sites and in large spaces. Until today we have had people smoking outside our children’s wards at Sandwell, next to the maternity unit at City, by our A&E departments, or in the bus shelter at Rowley Regis. From today we are going to work together to stop that. Right now, many of us find many ways to be bystanders in it. Some sensible, like fear of challenge of confrontation; some intellectual, citing the air pollution of nearby roads as an equal hazard. But any change requires a group of people to choose to make it so.  As NHS colleagues we are that group of people: Surely no one can say that they were unaware of the changes and have not had a chance to ask questions or put forward suggestions. You may disagree with the ban, but you have had every chance to have your voice heard.

We do not nip out for a drink in the pub during the working day. If one of our patients fancied a trip to the off license in the early evening we would not accompany them. Our visitors are often coping with distressing news or real anxiety. Even so we would not encourage them to imbibe outside our doors. What’s my point? Our concern about the change has an element of what’s normal about it. Two decades ago every pub was a fog of smoking. That changed. This change is just that, a shift in what’s normal. We would not accept moderate drinking at work. There is no reason we need to accept or facilitate smoking at work.

A colleague asked if I felt we were infringing rights and choices. I do not. We have provided a year’s worth of smoking cessation advice, nicotine replacement alternatives, inhalators and e-cigarettes.  No NHS Trust in the UK is offering the scale of offer and support we have had and will keep in place.  This ban is not a half-hearted attempt to signal intentions. The ban is a concerted attempt to change our workplace and to improve health locally. We have vaping shops with big staff discounts in Sandwell outpatients and on the City main spine.

The smoking ban is just one part of our work on employee wellbeing and on public health. I know we have behaviours, cultures and approaches that can damage health. We continue to work on that and this week the Trust Board will review the effectiveness of our approach to mental wellbeing and musculo-skeletal pain. The Monday before we had the latest training event for our weConnect Pioneer teams as we look to build engagement across our organisation.

Bans only work if they feel fair. That means that enforcement of the ban will be overt and overwhelming. Someone you know will most likely receive a £50 fine in the next month. Either they will be asked to stop smoking on site, and not do so, or they will be seen on camera and receive a notice through the post. Senior colleagues, junior colleagues, students and academics, none of us will be exempt from this ban. But the point of the ban is to help you to quit smoking.

So please talk about smoking today and this weekend at work. Talk about why giving up helps. Talk openly about the impact of other people’s smoking on your health and your wellbeing. The conversation we need to have is not about heavy-handed management, or virtue signalling. The conversation we need to have, and keep having, is about how we help people to stop smoking, and to realise the benefits of our changed approach. We have all worked in organisations that did not enforce their ban, just as we may have all worked in organisations that vaccinated very few staff for flu. We made a concerted effort six years ago to be different. Now is our time to do the same with smoking.

If you want more information about the ban, or have ideas about how to make it more effective, do get in touch – or look at the pages on Connect, some of which also form the wrap to this month’s Heartbeat.

Like many others I have been out and about today talking to people about vaping and about the smoking ban. I have met lots of colleagues who have quit or switched. And many more who support the ban, even if they themselves still smoke. Over the weekend, I will see how a busy Saturday night copes with the ban! Either way, with our fabulous estates team cleaning up every day, we will keep going to make our Trust properly smokefree.

Coming to work will no longer involve a fog of smoke. Let’s find other ways to take breaks and see colleagues. Smoking need not be part of that:  Cleaner air in our care.

Attached are this week’s IT stats: IT Performance Stats 5 July 2019

#hellomynameisToby

We’re going smokefree on 5 July

As we celebrate our 71st birthday, we mark an important milestone in our Trust’s history, as we do the right thing and ban smoking across our Trust. This decision was made almost one year ago on Thursday 5 July 2018, by our Trust Board, who were focussed then, as they are now on the health of our workforce and the community we serve.

All about the ban – your questions and comments answered

We have been delivering our smokefree message to our diverse community in Polish, and now in Punjabi. We want to ensure we reach as many people within our area as possible, so they are aware of our smoking ban, the risks around smoking and our drive to promote healthier lives. You can see our most recent video in Punjabi below.

Guidance on challenging smokers:

Guidance has been produced to support anyone who is on the smoking ban rota. During your walkabout you will encourage people to stop smoking on our sites and give advice and support about the alternatives available. The public are generally very approachable, pleasant and compliant and this should be a great opportunity for you to get out and about and speak directly to your patients, visitors, contractors and even your colleagues. However you must take steps to ensure your safety and this guidance will help to keep safe.

Smoke Free walkabout guidance

Be sure to check out this short clip featuring Tammy Davies, Group Director of PCCT on how colleagues should approach end of life patients who are smoking on site.

Smoking ban starts today:

Be sure to out this short clip from our Chief Executive, Toby Lewis talking about our smoking ban coming into effect from today.

Why going smokefree matters:

Rebecca Gardner Healthcare Apprentice said: “I’ve just signed up to an apprenticeship scheme in the Trust and I don’t want to put my health at risk by breathing in secondhand smoke just to get into the building.”

Latest edition of Heartbeat now online

The latest edition of Heartbeat is now available to view online.

This edition of Heartbeat features the Trust going smokefree, the 2019 leadership conference at Bethel Convention Centre and the launch of the welearn poster competition.

City outpatient physiotherapy department moved to Sheldon 3rd floor

Our City outpatient physiotherapy department has now moved to the 3rd floor at Sheldon block at City Hospital.

This means we will no longer accept walk in appointments and any referrals from the fracture clinic or A&E should be completed and placed in the physio referral box which is located in fracture clinic.

For more information please call ext. 4579.

Friday 5 July we are smokefree!

Friday 5 July we are smokefree! Colleagues, patients and visitors will no longer be allowed to smoke on our sites, in car parks, or in their cars parked on our property from this date. By bringing in the ban, we are promoting cleaner air in our care.

And who better than to deliver the message than the future generation.

The children, aged between five and 14, are featured in an emotive film in which they explain why a smoking ban is such an important factor in their lives.

“When I grow up I want to be healthly and always breathe in fresh air,” five-year-old Leela Evans tells us.

Whilst Alex Croasdale adds: “I want to play outside with my friends in air that smells of grass and flowers.”

Also featured are Eleanor Varma, aged 11, and Lauren Mighty-Clarke. Be sure to check out the video.

To find out how the smoking ban may affect you, please read the Smokefree Policy

All about the ban – your questions and comments answered

As part of our preparations for going smoke free we wanted to share some common questions and debunk some myths about the ban. Click here to read our smoking FAQ.

Meet our smokefree enforcement officers:

Meet Ryan Hanley and Rafal Brzezinski, two of our smokefree enforcement officers. You may have seen them patrolling the sites already in their distinctive red uniforms.

They will be enforcing the smoking ban across all outdoor areas, including in cars parked on our sites, from Friday. We are working in partnership with SafetyNet Security Group.

Ryan said: “We will be patrolling all three sites ensuring that they are kept as a smokefree zone.”

Be sure to check out this short video featuring our smokefree enforcement officers.

Guidance on challenging smokers:

Guidance has been produced to support anyone who is on the smoking ban rota. During your walkabout you will encourage people to stop smoking on our sites and give advice and support about the alternatives available. The public are generally very approachable, pleasant and compliant and this should be a great opportunity for you to get out and about and speak directly to your patients, visitors, contractors and even your colleagues. However you must take steps to ensure your safety and this guidance will help to keep safe.

Smoke Free walkabout guidance

Be sure to check out this short clip featuring patient being challenged by a colleague.

Watch out for our smokefree champions:

To support the smooth implementation of going smokefree, smokefree champions will be on a walkabout across the Trust encouraging anybody who is smoking to stub it out, whether that be patients, visitors or fellow colleagues Be sure to give them a wave should you see them pass your area or department!

Chief Executive Toby Lewis and the board recently went on a walkabout around the grounds of City Hospital, including the Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre (BMEC) and the Birmingham Treatment Centre (BTC) to see the spots – official and unofficial – where people are known to smoke.

NHS 71st Birthday celebration: 5 July

Our Trust alongside UNISON are inviting colleagues, patients and the community to celebrate 71 years of the NHS.

The birthday celebration will be taking place at the courtyard gardens at Sandwell Hospital from 11am – 3pm on Friday 5 July.

Note: Refreshments will also be available on the day. 

For more information please contact christine.rickards@nhs.nett.

We’re going smokefree on Friday 5 July

As we celebrate our 71st birthday, we mark an important milestone in our Trust’s history, as we do the right thing and ban smoking across our Trust. This decision was made almost one year ago on Thursday 5 July 2018, by our Trust Board, who were focussed then, as they are now on the health of our workforce and the community we serve.

To find out how this may affect you, read the Smokefree Policy

As part of our preparations for going smoke free we wanted to share some common questions and debunk some myths about the ban. Click here to read our smoking FAQ.

We have been delivering our smokefree message to our diverse community in Punjabi, and now Polish. We want to ensure we reach as many people within our area as possible, so they are aware of our smoking ban, the risks around smoking and our drive to promote healthier lives.

We have produced the video below in Polish, working with Trust Bank and translator Bozena Tula.

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.”

Guidance on challenging smokers:

Guidance has been produced to support anyone who is on the smoking ban rota. During your walkabout you will encourage people to stop smoking on our sites and give advice and support about the alternatives available. The public are generally very approachable, pleasant and compliant and this should be a great opportunity for you to get out and about and speak directly to your patients, visitors, contractors and even your colleagues. However you must take steps to ensure your safety and this guidance will help to keep safe.

Smoke Free walkabout guidance

Be sure to check out this short clip featuring a colleague being challenged by another colleague at the Trust.

Why going smokefree matters:

Tracey Moore, Holistic and Beauty Therapist said: “My work focusses on helping colleagues achieve wellbeing, so I fully support the ban as it means we will not be breathing in secondhand smoke as we walk around the hospital sites.”

Changes to blood collection training

With immediate effect,  blood collection training on the new blood issue fridge at Sandwell Hospital will be by pre-arranged appointment only.

Appointments can be booked by emailing Jayne.Evans1@nhs.net or Michelle.Reeves1@nhs.net.

Note: Anybody who was previously trained in blood collection and has not been trained on the new blood issue fridge will have their previous training date removed from their learning and development records as that training is no longer relevant.

NHS supply chain code changes: 15 July

We have been advised by NHS supply chain that there are number of order code changes effective from Monday 15 July which are detailed below:

Note: All other codes will be ‘masked’ and materially managed wards and departments will automatically receive the new coded items.

For more information please contact the procurement team on ext. 4938.

Unity go-live and future state events – outpatient clinics

To prepare everyone for the introduction of Unity, the project team will be hosting a series of go-live and future state events in July. These sessions are aimed at all clinical colleagues who run outpatient clinics, and will include the following information:

• What the go-live plan is
• What your day will look like using Unity
• Key changes to your workflows

It’s particularly important to attend if you are running clinics in the first week of go-live. Lunch will be provided and there will also be an opportunity to ask any questions you may have about Unity.

Please ensure you are booked onto a session to help get ready for go-live. Bookings can be made via Eventbrite on the links below.

If you need more information about Unity, or these go-live and future state events, please email swbh.unity.queries@nhs.net.