Monthly archives: October 2019

Halloween fundraiser for children with diabetes: 31 October

Our paediatric diabetes team will be hosting a Halloween fundraiser on 31 October in the Sandwell Hospital main reception from 11am – 3pm to help raise vital funds for children we care for with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The funds will specifically go towards a Christmas party for the children as well as a bowling and adventure day.

For more information about the fundraiser, please call 0121507 3476 or 07528 969853.

Heartbeat: Positive views as Tower Hill begins eye care service

Patients with age-related macular degeneration can now receive intravitreal injections at Tower Hill Medical Practice in Perry Barr. This service is delivered by ophthalmology clinicians from our organisation every Tuesday – part of the ongoing assessment of services and desire to provide closer to home care.

These injections into the eye help to preserve and can even improve vision. The procedure helps patients to stay independent. It helps to reduce falls, prevent injury and generally improve mental wellbeing. The move enables theatres at both Sandwell and City Hospitals to focus on more advanced care procedures.

Muriel Gillgrass, 85, of West Bromwich, was one of the first to utilise the new service at Tower Hill. Speaking to Heartbeat she said “I came in today to have an injection in my right eye and it went very well. Everybody is very friendly and it was completed in a nice room. I’ve never been here before, so it was quite an experience.”

“By moving this service into the community we’re able to expand our capacity to treat patients” explained Muhammad Jawad, Ophthalmology Consultant. “Those that have experienced the procedure are impressed with the quiet and calmer environment. It’s helpful for patients, particularly those who live in this area.”

Laura Young, Directorate Lead Nurse for Ophthalmology added “The GP practice at Tower Hill provides an alternative to patients having to come into a busy hospital. It supports our closer to home care vision. The facilities at Tower Hill comply with all the environmental and infection control measures expected in a hospital. The familiarity of a GP surgery may help to reduce anxiety for our patients. We’re pleased to be working in partnership with Tower Hill practice and look forward to developing our relationship further.”

Heartbeat: Pass the popcorn – revamp of cinema room means movie time for patients

Lights! Camera! Action! Thanks to HSBC colleagues, Leasowes Intermediate Care Centre now has a revamped cinema room for patients.

The company secretary team from the banking giant descended on the Smethwick facility to spruce up the room and transform an outside area.

Eight kind-hearted members of staff painted the cinema room, hung up vinyls and canvasses of movies from years gone by and, painted outdoor equipment to brighten up the area. The new equipment was funded by Your Trust Charity.

Nicky Black said: “HSBC offers employees two days a year to go out into their community. We wanted to use this opportunity to do something with our local NHS Trust.

“We’re hoping patients see a real transformation in the garden area. We’ve brightened it up and also updated what was once a storage area into a great room where they can watch movies.

“We feel this is a worthwhile project that patients will benefit from. This is a rehab centre for them to rest and recuperate and we hope we’ve made the surroundings more enjoyable for them to do so.”

Amanda Winwood, Fundraising Manager for Your Trust Charity, added “As ever we are always grateful to companies that allow their workforces to take out time from their busy schedules to help their local NHS Trust.

“We’re so pleased with the way the cinema room now looks and we’re sure our patients will enjoy sitting in the room and watching their favourite films.

“The team also donated books and games for our patients. They’ve done a brilliant job.”

Diwali celebrations at City

We’re hosting a a Diwali celebrations on Thursday 31 October at City Hospital Chapel, 12pm (prayers) with light refreshments served at 12.30pm.

For more information please call ext. 3552 or 4055.

Emergency care recruitment event – 2 November

Colleagues are being urged to pass the message along to friends and family about a medicine and emergency care recruitment event being held on Saturday, 2 November.

Those who recommend a friend, who is then successfully appointed will receive £100 along with the candidate. Terms and conditions apply.

On-the-spot job offers will be made at the open day, which is being held at Sandwell Hospital’s Education Centre.

Emma Hughes works on AMU as a staff nurse and she told us it’s “the best job in the world”. Join her and the team by going along to our recruitment event at Sandwell Hospital’s Education Centre on 2 November between 10am – 2pm.

You can check out her video below:

Your Christmas technology benefits – order by 8 December

Here’s your chance to take home the latest technology this holiday and spread the cost, with affordable monthly payments from your salary.

Key features of the benefit include:

• Exchange some of your pay for the latest technology
• Fantastic range of products from top brands including Apple, HP, Samsung, Microsoft, Nintendo, Sonos and more
• Spread the cost over 36 months Technology Benefit and 24 months Smartphone Benefit
• Extended warranty or insurance included with most main packages
• No credit checks, upfront costs or deposits
• Make savings on National Insurance

Note: The order window will be open until 8 December

View the full range of products at www.swbhbenefits.co.uk

For more information regarding staff benefits, please contact amir.ali1@nhs.net.

Fighting flu by coming to you – look out for our flumobiles

Our flu season continues to be a success with us having administered a total of 2,432 vaccinations to colleagues with 1,967 of jabs being given to patient facing colleagues as of Friday 25 October.

Last week we administered flu vaccination to many of our Muslim colleagues after their Friday prayers. We were able to do this as there are no porcine products contained within the adult flu vaccination on offer at our Trust. 

We are pleased to confirm that the ‘Flumobile’ will once again be visiting our community sites.

Below are some confirmed dates and times for clinics.

Community flu clinics – please note that arrival times are approximate

Tuesday 29 October
2.30pm – Neptune Health Park, Tipton, DY4 8PX – onsite for 20 minutes
3.10pm – Glebefields Health Centre, Tipton, DY4 0SN – onsite for 20 minutes

Thursday 31 October
11am – Warley Medical Centre, Oldbury. B68 0RT – onsite for 30 minutes
12.20pm – Whiteheath Medical Centre, B69 1EJ – onsite for 20 minutes

Monday 4 November
3pm – The Lyng, West Bromwich, B70 7AW – onsite for 30 minutes

Tuesday 12 November
11.10am – Rowley Hospital, Rowley Regis, B65 8DA – onsite for 50 minutes

Please note:

• Colleagues must show their Trust ID card to be eligible for their flu vaccination
• Times of arrival are estimated and depend upon conditions at the time
• No appointment needed, just drop-in when the Flumobile is at your base

Note: There will be no flu clinics at either Sandwell or City Hospital on either Tuesday 29 October or Thursday 31 October.

Replenishing Unity downtime boxes

Following the planned Unity downtime during the early hours of Sunday 27 October, it’s important to make sure that your Unity downtime boxes are properly restocked.

If you’ve used any documents out of your downtime box, ensure that you replace them with copies from your local store. If you need to do this, please also restock your local store so that it’s kept at a consistent level.

During the planned downtime you will have logged on to your 724 computers using the username and password for the 724 viewer, which is kept in an envelope marked ‘Unity downtime 724 username and password’. Please put this back in your Unity downtime box as the username and password will remain active until new ones are issued.

If you encounter any problems with replenishing your Unity downtime box, call the IT helpdesk on ext. 4050.

Heartbeat: Hello my name is… Davinder Rana

Welcome to Head of Legal Services, Davinder Rana.

Davinder has had a varied career as a solicitor for nearly 20 years. Her first role as a qualified solicitor was with the Treasury Solicitors Department in London. This was an interesting role which exposed her to contentious public sector work. Following this, she worked for several different local authorities as an in house solicitor as well as for a number of private practices. Davinder also ran several businesses, two of which were law firms. In 2015, she won the Outstanding Business Woman of the Year award through the Asian Business Chamber of Commerce. The ABCC is part of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Group and specialises in supporting the needs of businesses across the West Midlands area.

Davinder said: “To receive such a prestigious award was an amazing accolade which gave me a more solid foundation to continue with my career not only as a lawyer but as a business woman.”

More recently she joined NHS Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Trust as trust solicitor before her current role with SWB, which she sees as an opportunity to expand on her current skills and knowledge.

As our head of legal services, Davinder manages a legal team of approximately eight staff including the overseas visitors team. Her role is to provide sound legal advice to the Trust. The legal team handle a variety of legal work including clinical negligence, inquests and employers and public liability work: “No one day is the same, it’s very busy, very fast paced and I am enjoying it” she said.

Her vision is to make legal services more innovative and accessible to colleagues. Davinder said: “I am keen to make a real difference by improving and building on the existing services and deliver future strategic changes as the Trust evolves.”

One of Davinder’s aims is to move the department forward by raising the profile of her team and how they can support colleagues. She would like to encourage colleagues to get in touch with the legal team in the early stages of any potential issues, before there is a problem, but maybe there is a concern. Then colleagues can be given support and guidance before it escalates into a more serious incident.

Davinder said: “I am hoping to help staff to be more proactive, to feel comfortable in approaching us. We want to be resident in people’s minds. We want colleagues to understand that we are here to support them, that we are an extension of what they do”.

In her spare time, Davinder likes to keep fit, running, swimming and attending the gym. She also likes to cook, trying out new recipes. In between keeping fit, cooking and looking after her family, she regularly attends networking events, forging new relationships.”

Pulse upgrade: Wednesday 30 October

There is a planned upgrade of Pulse on (Wednesday 30 October) between 6.45am – 7.15am. Pulse is the new remote access solution.

During this time period you will not be able to access Pulse, meaning you will not have access to internal systems or the shared drive.

For colleagues who are out and about in the community, please refer to your business continuity processes and print off anything you may need for your shift.

It is anticipated that Pulse will be operating as normal as soon as the upgrade is complete at 7.15am.

If you experience any issues please call the IT help desk on ext. 4050.