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Monthly archives: July 2020

Skype is going, be Webex Teams ready

 

Skype for business is being decommissioned by NHSDigital in August, so make sure you are ready with an alternative way to communicate with colleagues.

The Skype app will therefore be removed from your PC.

We appreciate that a few of our users still use Skype and the Service Desk will help you set Webex teams.

If you don’t have a WebEx account call the IT support desk on 4050 or 0121 507 4050 for home workers for an account to be created.

Reminder to colleagues: What to do if you are contacted by PHSO

 

We must remind all our colleagues that if they are contacted by PHSO (Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman) they should contact the complaints team about this rather than liaise with PHSO directly.

If you are contacted by PHSO please email swbh.complaints@nhs.net.

For more information, please contact caroline.burgin@nhs.net or call ext. 5679.

Extension of enhanced bank rate until 13 September

 

We would like to thank everyone who has undertaken additional bank shifts to help maintain the consistency of patient care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Trust has agreed to extend the enhanced bank rate and arrangements until 13 September. To remind colleagues, this is an additional £4.50 per hour for nursing shifts, if you book 5 shifts with the bank between the 27 July – 13 September, and an additional £2 for HCA shifts. This increase has made a demonstrable increase to our fill rate and is enabling local leaders to plan ahead and avoid using agency workers.

Note: The Trust plans to finish the enhanced rate on 13 September and go back to the pre-COVID arrangements. You can book your shifts through the Trust Bank as usual.

Unity maintenance Friday 24 July – Saturday 25 July: Unity Ecoach affected and Single Document Capture affected

 

As we prepare to go live with the upgrade of Unity on 26 August, Cerner our third party support vendor will be carrying out maintenance this weekend which will affect aspects of the system.

Unity will remain operational throughout the maintenance period.

  • Ecoach will be unavailable between Friday 24 July, 9.30pm – Saturday 25 July 1.30am.
  • Single Document Capture will be unavailable on Saturday 25th July from 8pm to midnight.

Should you have any queries please contact the 24 hour IT helpdesk on ext. 4050 (0121 507 4050 for home workers).

Nominate your colleagues’ children for a thank you gift

 

Thanks to a generous donation from Bookblock arranged by one of our junior doctors, Dr Vijaytha Murali, we have an opportunity to provide a small gift to children of NHS workers who have been working throughout the pandemic, particularly recognising families who have managed with parents who have moved away from home in accommodation provided by the Trust so they can continue working to support our patients. The gift is to recognise how families of NHS workers have been affected and how they have supported their NHS workers to stay at work.

You have the opportunity to nominate your colleagues who have children and think deserve a little treat. You can make your nomination by completing the form below and sending to amanda.winwood@nhs.net by no later than Monday 10 August.

Note: This recognition initiative is for 500 children and will be allocated on a first come first serve basis and a maximum of two children per family. 

NAME
JOB TITLE
GROUP
HOW MANY CHILDREN?
AGE(S)
GENDER OF CHILD MALE / FEMALE
DID THEY WORK DURING COVID? YES / NO
HOW DID THEY MAKE AN IMPACT DURING THE PANDEMIC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drug safety notice and supply issues

 

We are having a number of issues with the supply of a variety drugs due to defects and shortages. Please see below information sheets regarding various drugs and instructions to follow due to supply issues.

For more information please contact the pharmacy department (City ext. 5263, Sandwell ext. 3783).

SIREN sounding out new R&D study

 

Our research and development team have launched an exciting new study called SIREN. The principal investigator for the study is Dr Masood Aga, Consultant and Specialty Lead in Occupational Medicine. The overall aim of this study is to determine if previous COVID-19 infection in healthcare workers confers future immunity from having the infection again. It will also look at any new infection and therefore will involve both repeat swab and the antibody blood test every two weeks on average (variable from 1 to 4 weekly sampling), for one year. The study is not blinded and participants will know their results after each test.

The study is open to healthcare workers in a clinical setting where patients are present. If you are currently participating in any other research, the team would need to discuss this with you individually. As part of recruitment, the team will be offering consent conversations on a one-one basis or as groups via WebEx or face to face, if you would prefer. Appointments will be made at a time that is convenient to participants and recruitment will be taking place at City and Sandwell Hospitals.

If you are interested in taking part in the study please complete the form below.

[su_box title="Siren Study Staff Enquiry Form" box_color="#25b393"][gravityform id="127" title="true" description="true" ajax="true"] [/su_box]

Unity Maintenance on Saturday 25th July from 20:00 to 23:59: Unity Single Document Capture affected

 

Essential maintenance will be taking place this weekend from 8pm until midnight affecting Single Document Capture within Unity.

Unity will remain operational throughout this maintenance however Single Document Capture (SDC) the function to scan documents directly into Unity and Archived reports will be unavailable.

Should you have any queries please contact the 24 hour IT helpdesk on ext 4050 or 0121 507 4050 for home workers.

Planned estates electrical works this Saturday

 

The statutory maintenance conducted on Saturday 18 July at City Hospital revealed a fault on the high voltage network which requires rectification. Estates will work with Western Power Distribution on Saturday 25 July in order to carry out the repair.

The whole City site except BTC and Sheldon will experience an electrical interruption at 7.30am on Saturday 25 July while we switch over to the generator. This interruption is identical to the monthly generator test.

The site will be switched back to mains at 4pm with a momentary interruption to power. The return to mains will be co-ordinated with colleagues on site to ensure the least impact to site operations and will be carried out in phases.

We will be running the site on the generators to reduce the number of switching operations and consequent inconvenience.

The mains supply will be available in the event of an issue with one of the site generators. With the exception of the switching times, electrical supplies to all areas will be available as normal.

For more information please contact Kevin Reynolds 07951 069298 or Ian Hawthorn on 07951 069299.

Boaters coffee shop closure: 3 – 4 August

 

Due to essential maintenance works, Boaters coffee shop will be closed on both Monday 3 August and Tuesday 4 August. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Trust retail outlets opening days and times:

Please see opening days and times of our retails outlets below.

Sandwell Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
OPD 8.15am- 3.30pm 8.15am- 3.30pm 8.15am- 3.30pm 8.15am- 3.30pm 8.15am- 3.30pm Closed Closed
Dining Room 7.30am-6.30pm 7.30am-6.30pm 7.30am-6.30pm 7.30am-6.30pm 7.30am-6.30pm 7.30am-6.30pm 7.30am-6.30pm
Main Reception 8am-7.15pm 8am-7.15pm 8am-7.15pm 8am-7.15pm 8am-7.15pm 10.30am-3.30pm 10.30am-3.30pm
City
Maternity

 

 Closed 10.30am-1.30pm 10.30am-1.30pm 10.30am-1.30pm 10.30am-1.30pm Closed Closed
BTC Costa

 

 8am-3pm 8am-3pm 8am-3pm 8am-3pm 8am-3pm Closed Closed
Coffee Culture 7.30am-

2pm

 7.30am-

2pm

 7.30am-

2pm

 7.30am-

2pm

 7.30am-

2pm

 Closed Closed
Boaters 8am-5pm 8am-5pm 8am-5pm 8am-5pm 8am-5pm Closed Closed
Arches 7.45am-9pm 7.45am-9pm 7.45am-9pm 7.45am-9pm 7.45am-9pm 7.45am-9pm 7.45am-9pm
Rowley
Coffee Pot 9.30am-2pm 9.30am-2pm 9.30am-2pm 9.30am-2pm 9.30am-2pm Closed Closed

We are encouraging all customers to take away any products they buy rather than eat at the restaurants in groups of more than two people. Our outlets are also only accepting contactless payments.   

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