Monthly archives: May 2020

Operating Department Practitioner Day

Today marks Operating Department Practitioner (ODP) Day! This special day aims to celebrate the ODP profession as well as raise awareness for both colleagues and the general public to find out more about the ODP role.

An ODP can have many roles and responsibilities but all of them care for a range of different patients throughout the phases of a patient’s surgical procedure which can be a very anxious time. The awareness day was first introduced on 14 May 2018. Take a look at this short film featuring Paula Gardner, our Chief Nurse, thanking all our ODPs for their hard work and dedication to the Trust.

Counselling service for colleagues

Are you worried, anxious or low in mood? Do you feel you need some additional support? Mental health issues affect around one in four people in any given year. Common mental health issues range from the worries and stress to anxiety and depression. Counselling can be a very helpful intervention for these problems as well as other issues.

The counsellors providing this service are trained to help with a wide range of issues and problems within the workplace and in your personal life. The service is completely confidential. You do not need to leave your name with occupational health if you don’t want to, just your contact telephone number.

There are also a range other support services which you can be directed to as appropriate.

Contact occupational health on 0121 507 3306 to book your FREE counselling sessions.

COVID-19 Bulletin: Wednesday 13 May

This is our every night bulletin. Please use this bulletin and cascade arrangements within care and corporate groups to guide your actions. Throughout May we are determined to reduce avoidable harm and death in the people we are taking care of. Kindness remains the guiding principle of all the actions in our work to tackle the virus – kindness in how we look after patients, visitors, and one another.

A quick reminder that outpatient care at the Trust is changing.  Face to face clinics will happen, under certain circumstances, but almost all clinics will take place through Visionable (with telephone options too).  Talk to your Group Director of Operations about the plan.  After the Clinical Leadership Executive has met on May 26^th we will publish the process for considering and agreeing exceptions to this New Normal.  If you have not used Visionable check out Nick Makwana’s video on Connect or contact Mark Whitehouse.

Numbers not statistics: Today’s totals (Yesterday’s totals)

1. GPs lead the way with COVID-19 treatment trial

All of the Trust’s COVID research recruitment so far has been to four research studies recruiting patients who have been admitted to our wards or intensive care units. There is now a treatment trial open for patients being seen by GPs in Your Health Partnership. This includes residents of care homes who are able to consent to participate.

The trial is open to people with COVID symptoms who are over the age of 65 with or without other health problems and for patients who are between 50 and 64 who have one of a number of pre-existing health conditions.  Dr Abdul Tabassum is the principal investigator for this study. The study is currently evaluating whether a seven-day course of hydroxychloroquine, a well-known drug used for acute malaria and certain types of arthritis, can reduce the severity of symptoms in vulnerable groups and help avoid hospital admission. The antibiotic azithromycin will soon be added to the trial.

If you are registered as a patient with Your Health Partnership and meet the criteria for this study you may get a text inviting you to join if you develop COVID symptoms. Alternatively if you think you could take part you can take a look at the website.  You can look and see if your GP is part of the trial on this page.

2. Sampling for COVID-19 – Temporary changes to swabbing process

As the demand for COVID testing has increased, it has become evident that there are emerging issues with supplies of reagents in some laboratories. Therefore in an effort to ensure we are able to continue testing and reporting on COVID-19 results in a timely manner, we have decided today to move our COVID-19 testing to a new laboratory for a few days.

The new move means that we are no longer asking colleagues to use dry black swabs to take samples, but to move to using white oropharyngeal swab kits for the time being until supplies of reagent are restored.

Further details of the new process to take swabs is available in the attached poster. Please ensure this process is followed carefully as failure to do so will result in samples being rejected and discarded.

3. Birmingham’s Treatment Centre setting the standard for recovery

If you have been down to the Birmingham Treatment Centre lately, you will have seen a new entrance and exit process in place, amongst a whole swathe of changes.  The BTC is our flagship site for supporting patients to begin returning to our Trust for care. On arrival, all patients are asked to sanitise their hands, they are supported to remove any old masks and gloves they may have and offered fresh surgical masks to wear for the remainder of their visit.

Remember if you work in the BTC or you are visiting, ensure you follow the same processes, set the standard for our patients and lead by example. Stop, sanitise your hands, and take a moment to ensure you are COVID free before you come in and the same before you leave the building.

4. Unity: Flagging suspected and screened COVID-19 patients

Did you know that COVID-19 results are flagged in Unity? When patients are screened and a test is carried out, you’ll see a ‘COVID-19 Screened’ flag in Unity and when a result returns from the lab, you’ll see clearly from Unity whether the patient is ‘COVID-19 Confirmed’.

5. Returning patient property red bags

Patients being admitted from a care home will often arrive with their personal belongings stored in a red bag. This bag contains their paperwork, medication and any personal belongings they bring with them. The bag stays with the patient throughout their hospital stay and should return with the patient on their discharge.

Red bags remain the property of the care homes and should at all times remain with the patients belongings. Where a patient passes away, the red bag should be returned to the property store at Sandwell Hospital or City hospital where it will be returned to the care home.

Property Stores:

• The Berridge Room, in the corner of the courtyard next door to Occupational Health (Sandwell Hospital).
• Anne Gibson Rooms, Shuttle bus pick up point (City Hospital).

If you are unsure about the process managing patient property, you can find further details in the following guidance document

TOMORROW IS OUR FIRST RECHARGE BOOTH.  YOU CAN JOIN IN!  GET IN TOUCH WITH CLAIRE HUBBARD

Heartbeat: Gynaecology celebrates first birthday!

Our Sandwell based gynaecology team celebrated their first birthday in February.

The celebration represented a year since the department moved from Alpha Suite to clinic 6A which is a part of the main outpatients’ area at Sandwell Hospital. The gynaecology unit specialise is addressing, correcting and easing any gynaecological issues our female patients experience.

For some of our patient’s gynaecological issues can have a catastrophic effect on their daily life. With this in mind, the team help patients to rectify these complex issues.

“Thanks to the move we have been able to increase our capacity. It is an exciting time for further growth. We are working hard to modernise one service, in particular, to offer a one-stop clinical experience for women with postmenopausal bleeding,” said Tiffany Jones, Sister.

In addition, the gynaecology team have also been able to commit to achieving faster treatment times for women that receive an endometrial (womb lining) cancer diagnosis.

The special birthday event was attended by colleagues who work within gynaecology, including Dr Abha Sinha, Consultant Gynaecologist and Obstetrician, CD. Dr Sinha believes the success of the move has been down to all the colleagues who work within the team. Tiffany has proven instrumental to the department, as have her core team made up of Vanessa Wright, Sara Greenaway, Jean Whitehouse, Tracey Law, Jenny Oliver, Charlotte Gordon, Donna Francis, Julie Hill and Cynthia Daly.

The team also benefits from being supported in times of pressure by Paula Bryan and her team from gynaecology outpatients’ in the Birmingham Treatment Centre. She said, “I have to express my huge admiration for Tiffany for her leadership skills, as well as her clinical and interpersonal skills in leading an amazing team. She has worked incredibly hard over the past 12 months to get the unit staffed with the best HCA team. She’s also trained and supported them to develop into band 3-4 roles.”

Raffaela Goodby, Director of People and Organisation Development has been a patient and has participated in multiple board visits to the department. A real advocate of the team and the work they do, she said, “Not many patients can say that their gynaecology visits are like visiting a spa. I can say that my experience as a patient and as a colleague has been zen from start to finish!

“Tiffany and the team calmly and simply explain very intimate procedures and give you assurance and honesty at a very worrying time. When I had treatment last year to have pre-cancerous cells removed, the team explained what was happening and I didn’t feel embarrassed or ill at ease once. That’s an achievement considering the intimacy of the situation.”

She added, “I want to offer my thanks to the team for all they do for patients, and for having that person-centred approach I know they offer to each patient. Thank you for being so open about women’s reproductive health, for openly talking about the importance of smear tests, and for looking after the gynaecological health of Sandwell and West Birmingham with such composure.”

Heartbeat: Baby Gibson first to benefit from patient generosity

Two-day-old, Kade Gibson was keen to show off his latest knitwear thanks to the kindness of former patient, Julita Dirsaite.

Julita was in our maternity department two and a half years ago and after the fantastic care she received whilst at the Trust, she made the decision she wanted to give back to the nurses and midwives at the hospital.

Being an enthusiastic knitter and the drive to help others, Julita decided she wanted to knit clothes for one of our most vulnerable group of patients and those just starting out in life, premature babies. Items included tiny knitted converse boots, ballerina shoes, flower blankets and bonnets. As well as knitting for the little babies, she also knitted a few accessories for our midwives including pen pots to store stationary as gifts for their continued hard work in the department.

Claire Cushing, M2 Ward Manager is one of many colleagues to get a gift from Julita and believes the donations from her will really help our patients.

She said: “We were overwhelmed with the donations from Julita and very much appreciate them all in our department. All the clothes, booties and blankets that have been knitted will really benefit the babies in maternity and their parents.”

Amanda Winwood, Fundraising Manager at Your Trust Charity facilitated the knitwear for maternity and echoes Claire’s views.

She said: “Unfortunately we have many mums who struggle to get hold of clothing for their premature babies, but by having our community support us in making such beautiful gifts and giving their time allows us to support our patients in the very early days. Julita’s gifts tie in perfectly with it being Year of the Nurse and Midwife 2020, and showing how appreciated they are.”

Angela Jane Gibson, mum of Kade Gibson was thankful for the donation and said, “It was really kind of the charity and hospital to provide Kade with a set of knitwear and booties when he was born.”

She added: “I must say a massive thank you to both as well as a special thanks to Julita for knitting them.”

COVID-19 Bulletin: Tuesday 12 May

This is our every night bulletin. Please use this bulletin and cascade arrangements within care and corporate groups to guide your actions. Throughout May we are determined to reduce avoidable harm and death in the people we are taking care of. Kindness remains the guiding principle of all the actions in our work to tackle the virus – kindness in how we look after patients, visitors, and one another.

‘Today is international nurses’ day.  Whether you are a student nurse, associate, registrant, or healthcare assistant today is for you. Thank you for the work you are doing to reassure patients and their loved ones, care for the people we look after, save lives and prevent harm. This is a chance to say thank you to you. But make sure you celebrate too. Whether you look to Mary Seacole, Paula Gardner, Florence Nightingale or a colleague you work with for inspiration, you are inspiring the rest of us.’  – Toby Lewis, Chief Executive

Numbers not statistics: Today’s totals (Yesterday’s totals)

1. COVID-19: Led by the science (properly..)

SWB Library and Knowledge Services are producing daily updates that highlight the latest evidence from NICE Rapid Reviews, guidelines from Royal Colleges and professional bodies, SWB Trials update, WHO situation reports, rapid evidence summaries from Oxford CEBM, education/training resources for all healthcare staff and healthcare technology news.

The Library page on Connect has a new section on COVID-19 evidence updates. Rapid evidence summaries by the SWB Therapeutic team to support Clinical Advisory Group are also included as part of these updates.  Library services are keen to help with any literature search requests you might have that are related to COVID-19. Please email your topic request to swbh.library@nhs.net

COVID-19 Research Pass (CRP) program is now available for all SWB clinical staff who are studying or writing about COVID-19.This programme will give you access to over 26 million full text articles. You can apply for their pass at https://covid19.readcube.com.

2. Sampling for COVID-19 – Change to swab type from  tomorrow

From tomorrow (13 May) black dry swabs must be used for COVID-19 tests.

Yellow Cobas swabs should no longer be sent for  COVID-19 PCR. It may not be possible to process the yellow swabs if sent after 13 May.

Please click here for more information regarding the change of swabs.

3. PPE – Staying safe and up to date with your personal protective equipment

PPE stocks are ever changing as stocks are replenished and new masks become available. It’s critical that colleagues stay up to date with the availability of masks that they have been fit tested for.

If you have been fit tested for a mask that is now discontinued or is short on supply, please ensure you book into a face mask fit testing clinic as soon as possible by contacting 0121 507 5050 or ext 5050 internally.

If you have been issued with a JSP silicone face mask (as pictured), please note there has been a change to the filter design that now makes the ‘Press to check’ seal test harder to carry out. Colleagues will likely be coming up to their 28-day filter change and will need to carry out a ‘Press to check’ seal test when attaching the new filters. When new filters have been fitted, press the heel of the hand to the filter and fingers around the back of the filter to allow for a better squeeze which will achieve a seal on the filter.

4. The Recharge Booth

This week we launch the Recharge Booth as part of our welearn programme.

The Recharge Booth is a ‘virtual’ space that allows you to come together with others, reflect, recharge, decompress, and join a safe and confidential discussion. The booth this week will be hosted by Richard Burnell and will focus on the feelings and emotions that are experienced during our daily work, rather than trying to find solutions.

The Recharge Booth will ‘open’ virtually on Thursday 14 May, 2pm, with each session lasting about 20 to 30 minutes, and will run every Thursday at the same time. Each week we will be sharing different colleagues’ stories and experiences.

By joining the Recharge Booth, we hope that colleagues will feel better enabled to maintain their health and wellbeing, and that it helps to support resilience in both personal and working lives.

For more information please contact Richard Burnell on 07747 144874 or Claire Hubbard on 07866 004575.

If you would like to be part of the Recharge Booth, drop an email to swbh.rechargebooth@nhs.net.  A WebEx invite will be sent to your outlook diary, and you will simply need to click on the ‘join’ button to enter.

 5. Testing still available for colleagues and household members

The testing provision for key workers and their family members has expanded.  Our own testing facilities are still in place at City Hospital, the Little Lane car park at Sandwell and our mobile facility that can come to your home!

If you develop symptoms please book an appointment to get tested. You can also book for members of your household who have symptoms, including children.  Asymptomatic testing is not currently available.

To arrange a test contact 0121 507 2664 and choose option 5. Test results will be communicated to you as soon as possible with negative results returned via text or email and a telephone call if you have a positive test result or if there are any queries.

Be sure to check out our latest wellbeing film on the importance of staying connected during the Pandemic. For all our health and wellbeing resources go to the dedicated pages on Connect

International Nurses Day

Today marks an important day in the calendar being International Nurses Day which is particularly special during 2020 which is International Year of the Nurse and Midwife. This awareness day aims to recognise nurses from across the globe who play a vital role in providing health services. The role of the nurse has altered dramatically over the years with more nurses now operating within increasingly specialist roles and in different settings, both in hospital and community services.

Our Chief Nurse, Paula Gardner has a special message for all our nurses across SWB:

“It is even more important during these challenging times to thank all of our nurses for their dedication and commitment to our patients and their families. I am proud of every nurse within our organisation, who has continued to provide excellent care despite the difficulties we now experience. Nurse careers at SWB continue to evolve with development opportunities for every nurse to expand their skills and knowledge. But what hasn’t changed are the core values of kindness and compassion that I know each nurse holds dear. Thank you to all of you, for the selfless care you provide at every opportunity.”

Be sure to also check out this short video message from Paula.

Drug safety notice – Lorazepam drug shortage

Lorazepam is a short-acting benzodiazepine, licensed and used at SWBH for the following indications:

• The treatment of acute anxiety states, acute excitement or acute mania in patients over 12 years
• The control of status epilepticus in adults and children

Ativan (lorazepam) 4mg/ml solution for injection will be out of stock from w/c 27 April until w/c 15 June 2020.

In order to manage supplies, going forward pharmacy will be removing stock from wards to be kept centrally. Read the full drug safety notice – Lorazepam 4mg in 1ml injection shortage.

Drug safety notice – clenil modulite 100microgram inhaler

Due to an increased demand, additional batches of clenil modulite (beclometasone) 100micrograms are to be released into the UK supply chain following authorisation by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

These batches are likely to come into circulation from 11 May 2020. Please read the drug safety notice for full details – Clenil Modulte 100microgram inhaler 070520.

COVID-19 Bulletin: Monday 11 May

This is our every night bulletin. Please use this bulletin and cascade arrangements within care and corporate groups to guide your actions. Throughout May we are determined to reduce avoidable harm and death in the people we are taking care of. Kindness remains the guiding principle of all the actions in our work to tackle the virus – kindness in how we look after patients, visitors, and one another.

Last night’s Prime Ministerial “roadmap” explained that the economic issues and care issues are both twin challenges to be faced, and that is reflected in our work to date.  The guidance on returning to work, school, and other activities does not alter any existing Trust arrangements put in place for the Pandemic.  The Working From Home guidance we have remains in place and is being reviewed via last week’s questionnaire and this week’s WebEx.  We will revisit the social distancing arrangements for all office based environments during May to ensure we comply with soon-to-be published HSE requirements.  Car parking remains free and nationally funded presently, albeit our available car parking will lessen in June as construction works kicks off on our new Car Parks!

Numbers not statistics: Today’s totals (Yesterday’s totals)

1. Visionable – “new normal” for care locally

Visionable is our online tool that enables us to hold virtual clinics with patients via a videolink working from both laptops or desktops.  Patients can use their mobile phones or a tablets. The Visionable system is now available for colleagues and will be the default system to use for clinic appointments.  A handful of pre-agreed exceptions for certain circumstances will be in place where a face to face appointment is necessary. Visionable enables clinicians to see patients safely whilst practicing social distancing.  It also supports the involvement of family members who do not live locally.

To see how Visionable works look at the film here where Consultant Paediatrician Nick Makwana demonstrates a typical virtual consultation using the Visionable platform.  Further information on the usage is available in the attached Standard Operating Procedure.

For more information on the new system or to obtain your access, contact Mark Whitehouse on markwhitehouse@nhs.net

2. Birmingham’s Treatment Centre reopens today #greenshoots

Today the Treatment Centre (BTC) opened up to patients with thanks to the Big Clean Up operation undertaken by our Ward Services team. You will notice some changes to the area, including markings on the floor to support social distancing, perspex screens to protect staff, new handwashing zones and new flooring. It’s all part of our six week programme of recovery and restoration. Later this week surgical procedures, diagnostics and essential face-to-face clinical appointments will resume.

The separate entrance and lay-out will help provide reassurance that services are separated from acute COVID-19 care which is why we are starting our #greenshoots work here. Over the coming days we will work with staff involved on how the new BTC will operate over a six or seven day week.  It’s a big change for catering staff, ward service officers, reception staff and clinicians.

Watch the video below to see the changes that have been made.

3. Collection arrangements for patient property

Arrangements have been made for relatives to collect patient belongings from locations at City and Sandwell Hospitals to avoid the need to attend a clinical area. These are at:

• The Berridge Room, in the corner of the courtyard next door to Occupational Health (Sandwell Hospital).
• Anne Gibson Rooms, Shuttle bus pick up point (City Hospital).

Items can be deposited there each day and relatives can arrange a time to collect belongings.

Please follow the guidance here to ensure that belongings are labelled and bagged appropriately.

4. Working from home survey closes tomorrow: Have your say

Anyone working from home is also asked to take 10 minutes to complete this short survey – https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/SWBWFH2020 to share your views and ideas on what has worked well and what has been difficult. This will help to inform the Trust’s future home working guidance. The survey will close at 5pm on Tuesday.

You can also join a WebEx specifically for people who have been working from home at 14.30 on Thursday 14 May to put forward your experiences and ask any questions.

Visit: https://swbhnhsevents.webex.com/swbhnhsevents/onstage/g.php?MTID=ece1a91f23682a8cbe9f39af46f2936a4 to join.
The meeting password is SWBWFH.

5. Sampling for COVID-19 **PLEASE NOTE – Change to swab type** from  13 May 2020

From 13 May black dry swabs must be used for COVID-19 tests.

Yellow Cobas swabs should no longer be sent for  COVID-19 PCR. It may not be possible to process the yellow swabs if sent after 13 May.

Please click here for more information regarding the change of swabs.