Monthly archives: October 2019

Black History Month

Black History Month is an annual celebration which aims to raise awareness and recognise the contributions that people of African and Caribbean backgrounds have made to the world over many generations.

Today we are showcasing Doreen Delceita Lawrence, Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon, OBE who is a British Jamaican campaigner and the mother of Stephen Lawrence, a black British teenager who was murdered in a racist attack in South East London in 1993. She promoted reforms of the police service and founded the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust. She was appointed OBE for “services to community relations” in 2003, and was created a Life Peer in 2013. In January 2016, she was appointed to be Chancellor of De Montfort University, Leicester.

Don’t forget: To celebrate Black History Month, the BME Network will be hosting a desert island discs show on Sandwell Hospital Radio on Thursday 7 November, 12pm – 2pm.

Stepping up programme: Applications close 18 December

Please be aware that applications deadline for the February 2020 cohort of the stepping up programme is 18 December.

The programme is aimed at bands 5 and 6 colleagues who self-define as being from an black, Asian or minority ethnic background.

Note: This particular cohort will take place in London. Please see Stepping up flyer for more information.

A new employability venture though the volunteer service

We are starting a new project called World of Work (WoW) which is a unique work experience placement programme specifically designed and funded for job seekers and unemployed people who are age 25 plus, that meet the referral criteria, and live within the Birmingham and Solihull catchment area.

World of Work could be for you or someone you know, especially if:

You are age 25 plus, unemployed, want to be ‘job ready’ and live in Birmingham within three to five miles of City Hospital.

You have no formal qualifications, but really want to pursue a career in the Healthcare sector.

You currently volunteer in a healthcare related setting but you now require retraining and accredited qualifications.

You have the capacity to attend 16 hours of development training for eight weeks including work-based experience as a placement across Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust or with external health and social care service partner organisations, community projects or schools.

You’ve often thought about applying for a job within the NHS… but you didn’t apply due to having no recent or valid work experience.

If YES to at least three of any of the above then the World of Work ‘Pathway to Employment’ at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust might be just for you.

For more information please visit:

https://www.swbh.nhs.uk/volunteers/worldofwork/

To enrol please click here and fill in the application form by Monday 28 October or email lizagill@nhs.net if you need support with filling in the application. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sam gets her team in on the green scene

The Trust recently hosted a sustainability garden party to raise awareness around how we can all reduce our impact on the environment. One of the ways colleagues are encouraged to do so is by joining the Green Impact programme. This exciting behaviour change programme supports colleagues to make sustainable changes. The scheme helps identify ways to work together in teams to take simple actions that can collectively make a big difference.

There are lots of things we can all do to lighten the load on our planet. These changes also have a significant cost saving impact on the Trust too. Colleagues can start today by saving energy, water, travelling less or finding more efficient methods of transport.

Sam Morgan, Alcohol Specialist Nurse, attended the recent sustainability garden party and signed up to the Green Impact programme.  As a result of doing so Sam was delighted to win the £100 Amazon voucher donated by Tusker. Having recently lost out on her holiday due to the collapse of Thomas Cook, this was a welcome surprise.

Fran Silcocks commented, “We had around 100 teams join up during the garden party. They’ve joined 55 people that are already part of the programme. Together we’re all working hard to make our organisation sustainable and as environmentally friendly as it can be. By taking this approach we’re helping to not only future proof our Trust, but we’re doing our bit for the environment too.”

If you’d like to find out more on Green Impact, head over to http://greenimpact.nus.org.uk/about/ or to register a team at the Trust visit http://www.greenimpact.org.uk/swb. Alternatively, you can contact francesca.silcocks@nhs.net.

Optimistic about Unity optimisation

Please print this bulletin out and display in a prominent position in your ward/area and draw attention to it for all colleagues to read.

To help you get the best out of Unity we will continue to share top tips. Please take note of these helpful reminders as they may resolve an issue you have experienced.

Ordering printer labels and printable ID bracelets

Please see below the details needed to order printer labels and printable ID bracelets via NHSSC.

Please note that neonatal printable ID bracelets will need to be ordered from Brenmoor via Oracle, using reference BABYSOFT250N, until they are available to order from NHSSC.

All materially managed wards and departments will automatically start receiving the required items listed above, following discussions with the procurement team member that undertakes your weekly ordering.

If you have any queries concerning the above please contact Lisa Southall, NHS supply chain and procurement supervisor, on ext. 4938.

You can also get in touch with any of the following members of the procurement team – Mark Shervington (ext. 4937), Earl Ebanks (ext. 4699), Jackie Graham (ext. 4939), Gurprit Galsinh (ext. 2824), Debbie Chetwynd (ext. 2823) or Becky Vanes (ext. 2689).

Meet super user Emily Bradley

Midwife Emily Bradley (left) is a super user on Maternity 2. She’s been giving guidance and support to colleagues as they get to grips with Unity, starting with the lead-up to go-live.

“I was making sure that everyone was going on the Play System, they’d had their training and they felt comfortable. I had extra training to make sure I knew what I was doing when Unity went live and I distributed the pocket guides out to people,” she said.

As with most areas, there was some initial stress and uncertainty involved with adapting to new ways of working but things have settled down over the last couple of weeks and some of the benefits are coming through.

“The first day of go-live wasn’t great, but the next day was better. We found a few issues as we went along but any time we’ve reported anything it’s been fixed,” said Emily.

“Unity seems quicker when we’re doing bloods for mums and babies. We’re not having to fill out a form, we can literally just put on a label and send it across. That seems to be saving a bit of time.”

Remember – you can contact your Super Users for help and advice or call ext. 4050 if you have issues with your device or use of Unity.

Caribbean menu: 29 October

Hallam restaurant, Arches, Boaters and Rowley Coffee Pot will be offering a Caribbean theme menu on 29 October so be sure to drop by for a bite to eat.

Heartbeat: New team of midwives ensure mums-to-be receive continuity of care

A new team of midwives will ensure mums-to-be are cared for by the same health professional throughout their pregnancy.

Following the publication of Better Births in 2016, a report into the maternity provision in England and Wales, it was identified that when a woman is cared for by the same midwife, or by another from the same small team, the outcomes of pregnancy are greatly improved.

Sarah Figg and Clare Williams have taken on the roles of continuity leads at our organisation to lead the Willow team, which consists of eight midwives, so that care will reflect the report.

They will each focus on the care of 36 to 38 women a year from the B67 area, providing antenatal, postnatal and intrapartum care. They will also be supporting births at home as well as in the midwifery-led unit, Serenity Suite, and the Delivery Suite, which are both based at City Hospital.

Clare said: “This group of lovely, enthusiastic midwives have totally embraced the concept of providing care for women at every step of their journey and are eager to promote the benefits of continuity to anyone who is willing to listen.

“Sarah and I are currently working on the next model which will provide care for women with uncomplicated pregnancies who will be giving birth in Serenity.

“This will also be a team-based approach with women allocated to a named midwife who will provide most (above 70 per cent) of their care, with midwives known to the patient, caring for them during labour and birth. This is due to launch in September and will cover both the Sandwell and West Birmingham areas.”

Black History Month

Black History Month is an annual celebration which aims to raise awareness and recognise the contributions that people of African and Caribbean backgrounds have made to the world over many generations.

Marcus Garvey was a Jamaican political activist, publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator. He was the founder and first President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League through which he declared himself Provisional President of Africa.

He received praise for encouraging a sense of pride and self-worth among Africans and the African diaspora amid widespread poverty, discrimination, and colonialism. He is seen by many as a national hero in Jamaica.

Don’t forget: To celebrate Black History Month, the BME Staff Network will be hosting a desert island discs show on Sandwell Hospital Radio on Thursday 7 November, 12pm – 2pm.

Black History Month

Black History Month is an annual celebration which aims to raise awareness and recognise the contributions that people of African and Caribbean backgrounds have made to the world over many generations.

Today we are showcasing Edward Enninful OBE is editor-in-chief of British Vogue. He was appointed fashion director of British fashion magazine i-D at the age of 18, a position he held for over two decades.

He has won an array of awards including the Black Alumni of Pratt Celebration of the Creative Spirit Award, 2012, the Clio Excellence in Commercial Styling Award, 2015 and the CFDA Media Award, 2018.

Don’t forget: To celebrate Black History Month, the BME Staff Network will be hosting a desert island discs show on Sandwell Hospital Radio on Thursday 7 November, 12pm – 2pm.

Black History Month

Black History Month is an annual celebration which aims to raise awareness and recognise the contributions that people of African and Caribbean backgrounds have made to the world over many generations.

Today we are showcasing Ian Wright, MBE who is a former English professional footballer who enjoyed success with London clubs Crystal Palace and Arsenal as a forward, spending six years with the former and seven years with the latter. With Arsenal he lifted the Premier League title, both the major domestic cup competitions, and the European Cup Winners Cup. He played 581 league games, scoring 387 goals for seven clubs in Scotland and England, earning 33 caps for the English national team.

Don’t forget: To celebrate Black History Month, the BME Network will be hosting a desert island discs show on Sandwell Hospital Radio on Thursday 7 November, 12pm – 2pm.