Monthly archives: February 2020

Heartbeat: Top honour for devoted doctor

One of our leading clinicians, Professor Elizabeth Hughes has been awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours List.

The consultant in chemical pathology and metabolic medicine was given the award for services to healthcare, education and training, both nationally and in the West Midlands, it was announced just before the New Year.

Speaking of the honour, she told Heartbeat: “I was amazed when I found out. The envelope arrived, and when I opened it, I couldn’t believe it. I just kept looking at the letter.”

Professor Hughes has worked for the Trust for 30 years and she remembers her first day vividly. “The earth literally shook on my first day at Sandwell Hospital,” she laughed. “There was an earthquake that day. The desk started shaking and there was this rumbling noise. At first, I thought someone was moving furniture around, but then we all discovered there had been an earthquake.”

From that point on, Professor Hughes has been shaking things up by bringing in a wealth of new ideas – all to improve patient care. Her role involves monitoring bodily fluids like blood and urine to detect important changes in the body’s chemistry. Metabolic medicine is concerned primarily with the clinical management of disorders, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and lipid (fat/hormone) disorders.

“I was the first to take clinics analysing bloods into the community,” she explained. “It was hugely beneficial because we were taking the care directly to our patients, rather than them having to trek to the hospital.”

“I had an interest in patients with genetic disorders and so became the first to start up research into this as well as managing their conditions. Our research in lipids became one of the foremost in the UK.”

Professor Hughes didn’t stop there. She saw how the south asian community suffered from cardiovascular diseases. At the end of the 1990s, she started research into this area. “There was a very high incidence of diabetes in people in the area and so we started offering a screening service outside of the research.”

“We checked bloods for diabetes and high cholesterol and we found that many of the community had issues around this. My team became embedded into the community and were visiting temples, mosques and even West Bromwich Albion FC, and engaging with those hard to reach groups.”

“After they were diagnosed a nurse or doctor would give them lifestyle advice and arrange further treatment. We found that over 50 per cent were at risk of cardiovascular disease. Sandwell was then 40 per cent above the national average of those at risk of a heart attack. In total, we screened more than 8,000 people over 10 years.” As a result, she set up the charity Healthy Hearts, to carry on the good work in educating the community as a whole about the risks around cardiovascular diseases.

Over the years, Professor Hughes has been commended for her research but she has also been recognised for the work she has done in the education of junior doctors. Her work led to the Sandwell site becoming a teaching facility.

“When I came here the old learning and development building used to be the postgraduate centre. I project managed the rebuilding of the new centre and then oversaw the development of the library. It meant that we became the fourth teaching hospital in the Birmingham area and could bring in medical students.”

As with her work around cardiovascular diseases, Professor Hughes has continued her passion within education. She is now Deputy Medical Director of Health Education England having risen through the ranks, on a part-time basis. “I continue my work within a healthcare setting and I’m based at Sandwell Hospital,” she added

It’s surprising to learn that despite her hectic career, she still has various hobbies she indulges in outside of work. “I am a long-distance swimmer, I sing in a choir and I also enjoy floristry,” she laughed.

Take two minutes to complete our exercise survey

Do you know how much exercise you do but more importantly, do you know the implications of not exercising on a regular basis?

Why not take our short survey now to find out and we’ll share the results soon.

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/exercise-and-health-survey

Note: The survey should only take a few minutes to complete.

Hallam Close car park temporary closure

The entrance of Hallam Close car park at Sandwell Hospital requires urgent repair work meaning the car park will be closed to traffic on the evening of Thursday 13 February in readiness for the work to commence on the morning of Friday 14 February.

Note: The area will be re-opened to vehicles as soon as the work is completed, which is anticipated to be at lunchtime on Friday 14 February.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Cancer services seeking dancing Superstars!

Cancer services would like to hear from any budding local children’s dance groups who may be interested in  providing entertainment to our patients and their carers, at their annual trust cancer fair that is taking place at Bescot Stadium, Walsall on Saturday 6 June.

This will be a great opportunity for youngsters to display their group dancing talents in front of a  large, appreciative audience of up to 300 people, whilst supporting a fantastic event that we are in the 8^th year of running. The children will be warmly received by all, and enjoy the thrill of performing live at this super event, which is a great experience for all who attend.

For further details please contact Jenny Donovan on ext. 2525.

Heartbeat: Dry January: Alcohol team demonstrate how to cut down your intake

As you settle into the New Year you’ll undoubtedly hear lots of talk about forming healthy new habits. You’ll most likely be familiar with Dry January, a national campaign that encourages participants to take a whole month off from indulging in alcohol. After the excesses of Christmas this helps you reconsider your relationship with alcohol.

In a bid to showcase the benefits of Dry January, the alcohol team took their drinks trolley on a whirlwind tour of the Trust. This was, however, a drinks trolley with a difference. Packed full of delicious drinks they all had one thing in common – they were all alcohol-free. They had rum, flavoured gins, mulled wine, pale ale and mixers all available to try.

Colleagues queued up eagerly to sample the drinks and were all pleasantly surprised with their chosen tipple and more so when they learnt that the drinks contained no alcohol at all. Finance Apprentice, Tarragan Stewart-McCann commented: “I tried a rum and coke. It had a hint of rum and smelt the same. I honestly wouldn’t have known the difference.”

The alcohol team were keen to share the positive health and financial benefits associated with reducing your alcohol intake. Samantha Morgan, Alcohol Specialist Nurse, commented: “There are lots of alternatives to the alcoholic drinks that don’t have any harmful effects on your body. Alcohol is a toxic substance and it’s hard for your body to process. It also impacts your mood and can affect your mental health.”

When speaking of the importance of raising awareness around alcohol consumption and alternatives, Samantha commented: “As professional health care providers we must understand how our drinking may impact the patient care we provide. It’s also important to recognise that we have our own relationship with alcohol and taking some time out from regular drinking brings many associated health benefits. These include reducing blood pressure, the risk of developing diabetes and improved sleep.”

Bra collection to support secondary breast cancer research

Cancer services are collecting bras in good condition that will then be sold on with the money raised going towards secondary breast cancer research.

Bras can be dropped dropped at cancer services who are based on the ground floor of Hallam building at Sandwell Hospital.

For more information please contact Jenny Donovan on 0121 507 2776.

LGBT Staff Network Chair – elections 2020

Are you a colleague who self-defines as being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender?

Could you be willing to assist the Chair of the LGBT Staff Network as their Vice Chair?

This is a dynamic role that can help influence the work and policies of the organisation and can help staff have a real voice in leading change, you will be a spokesperson for the network and work with colleagues from across the trust to work in partnership to deliver our staff pledges and lead events and actions to improve the experience of our LGBT colleagues.

Should you wish to be involved please email the equality and diversity inbox swb-tr.SWBH-GM-EqualityDiversity@nhs.net and declare your interest by 25 March.

You will need to supply a brief statement as to why you wish to stand.

Identifying and improving research capacity

Our Trust has been asked to support a UK wide study into NHS workforce research capacity. This survey is being conducted on behalf of Cancer Research UK by the Centre for Health Services Studies at the University of Kent.

The purpose of the survey is to work with healthcare professionals to investigate what enables them to become more involved in clinical research, with a specific focus on what drivers and incentives support research activity and capacity. This includes people who are involved in delivering and/or leading research. The survey also seeks to identify what priority is given and how research engagement is supported by our organisation.

Visit https://bit.ly/38cD7RG to take part in the survey.

Heartbeat: Taking action on a plastic world

We only have one world, and the overuse of single use plastics – as well as the repercussions of their use on local and global wildlife – has been a huge part of environmental discussions taking place over the last year.

As part of our focus on sustainability and environmental issues, we’re also working with the local authorities on the clean air plan. We also have a Trust-wide initiative called Green Impact which supports colleagues to make sustainable changes to their department and the wider campus. There have been regular changes made across all our facilities to reduce the amount of single-use plastics that are both procured and disposed of.

Between 2013 and 2018, NHS services across England used more than 600 million disposable cups and millions of other disposable cutlery pieces, as well as many other avoidable single-use clinical and non-clinical plastic items. Sandwell and West Birmingham has signed up to the NHS England/NHS Improvement commitment to reduce single-use plastics. The first area to tackle is removing plastic straws and stirrers from across the organisation.

The pledge states the following goals:

• By April 2020, no longer purchase single-use plastic stirrers and straws, except where a person has a specific need, in line with the government consultation.
• By April 2021, no longer purchase single-use plastic cutlery, plates or single-use cups made of expanded polystyrene or oxo-degradable plastics.
• By April 2021, go beyond these commitments in reducing single-use plastic food containers and other plastic cups for beverages – including covers and lids.

Data for various single-use plastic items (i.e. quantities procured over the last year) will be tracked and submitted to measure progress.

Heartbeat will have more information about our environmental endeavours throughout the year.

Get on the road to a healthier lifestyle in 2020

“The Cycle to Work Scheme” window will run until 29 February.

Choose from 1000’s of bikes available at Halfords.

Sign up by visiting cycle2work.info and register using employer code “SANDWELLC2W”

For further information visit www.cycle2work.info or call 03455 046444.

As part of the scheme there are host a discounts whatever your budget.

• Additional benefits to you by acquiring a bicycle through the scheme are;
• 1 year bike care plan
• 20 per cent off all cycle accessories, parts and clothing for the duration of the scheme
• Great discounts on Halfords and Halfords Autocentre’s products and services
• Savings compared to High Street prices
• Monthly reductions direct through payroll

5 easy steps to getting your bike

1. Register for your username and password at www.cycle2work.info using the employer code below.
2. Visit Halfords to find out how much you want to spend (letter of collection amount) or call 0345 504 6444 for more information on the brands available.
3. Log in using your username and password and click Apply now. Input your letter of collection amount and click Submit.
4. You will receive an email with your Hire Agreement. Follow the instructions to sign this electronically. It will then automatically be sent for approval.
5. Once your application has been approved you will receive your Letter of Collection by email so you can go and collect your new bike!
   If you would like a model not in Halfords range contact the cycle2work helpline on 0345 504 6444