Monthly archives: August 2020

Why weight? Get started now

Tomorrow marks the launch of the healthy weight element of our wellbeing strategy.

The plan has a number of elements included to help look after colleague wellbeing including:

• Access to our health and wellbeing calendar
• Weekly online dance classes every Friday hosted via Connect with Dr Nick ‘Tik-Tok’ Makwana!
• Local wellbeing leads to help you take control of your health and wellbeing
• Sandwell Leisure Trust corporate membership.

Join Friday’s WebEx from 12.30pm – 1.30pm, where we will run a live session to launch the healthy weight element of our wellbeing programme for colleagues. A recording will also be made available on Connect.

If you would like to join the WebEx follow the link below https://swbhnhs.webex.com/swbhnhs/j.php?MTID=mb97ac16476b6de77c069430ff520abd2.

To join by phone, call 020 3478 5289 and enter meeting ID 137 148 3285 when requested.

For further information contact Johnny Shah johnny.shah@nhs.net

COVID-19 Bulletin: Wednesday 12 August

This is our weekly bulletin and will be issued every Wednesday. Please use this bulletin and cascade arrangements within care and corporate groups to guide your actions. 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.

Numbers not statistics: Today’s totals (last week’s data)

1. PPE Hubs at City and Sandwell close on Friday

The PPE distribution hubs have been experiencing significantly reduced activity over recent weeks and the decision has now been taken to return to normal distribution led by the procurement team. This will occur from 14 August.

A continued daily delivery of PPE will continue for those areas already receiving such. Any new areas requiring a daily delivery can email the procurement team and this can be set up as required. Please email Lisa.Southall1@nhs.net.

An additional ‘adhoc’ delivery service will also be established with the procurement team.

For Sandwell please email swbh.ppe-bryanknight@nhs.net
For City please email swbh.ppe-d18@nhs.net

2. Car park barriers back in use

Colleagues are reminded that from this coming Saturday (15 August) our car parking barriers will be back in use. Earlier this year we raised the barriers and suspended car parking charges for staff, patients and visitors in response to government guidance and risks associated with COVID-19. Unfortunately this has seen an increase in both inconsiderate parking and security incidents in our car parks. As our hospital service gets back to normality there is a need to ensure the safety and security of all.

Parking remains free until further notice, however staff with valid parking permits must only park on designated bays on staff car parks. Visitor spaces are for our patients and visitors to use. Staff who park at New Square are asked to resume doing so.

Much like the one at City, a new afternoon car park for staff working late shifts opens at Sandwell on 15 August. Parking is allowed between 11.30am and 8am (the next day) only. Vehicles must have left by 8am – vehicles parked outside of these hours may incur a £50 parking charge.

3. Action required to tackle health inequalities in latest phase of COVID-19 response and recovery

COVID-19 has shone a harsh light on some of the deep health inequalities that persist in our society. Like nearly every health condition, COVID-19 has had a disproportionate impact on people living in areas of high deprivation, on people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, those with a learning disability and others with protected characteristics. A central part of responding to COVID-19 and restoring services as part of the Third Phase of NHS Response to COVID-19 letter must be to increase the scale and pace of system-wide action to tackle inequalities.

NHS England and NHS Improvement commissioned a national advisory group of leaders from within the NHS and beyond to advise on how to achieve this aim in the coming months. This group identified 8 urgent actions, building on the measures to implement the NHS Long Term Plan.  All parts of the NHS are now being asked to deliver these actions, working in close partnership with colleagues in local government, other public services, the voluntary sector, and with communities. NHS bodies and leaders will be monitored to ensure they are delivered.

Read more about the detail and context of the eight actions in the document Urgent Actions to Address Inequalities in NHS Provision and Outcomes and how they will be delivered and monitored.

4. Advice to patients before surgery

The Trust is producing a leaflet for patients setting out guidance on what is required before attending for a planned procedure. This is based on the NICE guidance that was recently published. We will be expecting patients to maintain strict social distancing for 14 days prior to their procedure. They will need a swab taken three days before surgery and then will need to self-isolate from that date prior to coming into to hospital. The patient information that will be produced in leaflet form can be found here. If you have any queries about these arrangements please raise them through your link on the Tactical COVID-19 group.

5. Updated guidance on returning from abroad

The COVID-19 pandemic is a rapidly developing situation and we recognise that ongoing Government announcements regarding a change in policy for those returning from some countries will impact on some colleagues.

In responding to the situation and to provide support we have taken the decision that all colleagues’ circumstances must be treated individually to ensure that we offer every opportunity to help.

We have received confirmation from Public Health England that all NHS staff/GPs, will be required to self-isolate for 14-days on return from Spain which took effect from the date of announcement – 24 July 2020.  There are no exceptions. Other countries have now been added to this list – the Government’s coronavirus travel guidance website has all the latest information.

Colleagues cannot book a test to get them back to work earlier, all those returning must self-isolate for the full 14 days. Any colleague who is symptomatic on return should book a test through our normal procedure; if the test is negative you must still complete the 14-days self-isolation.

Those staff affected by this Government announcement will be offered a variety of options which should, where possible, be agreed with your line manager, and recorded, prior to any trip abroad as we recognise this continues to be an ever changing situation.

All colleagues should discuss their plans in detail, with their line manager before travelling to the country, and consider whether they will be insured for their trip and any implications for the individual if something happens and you are not insured or may be unable to travel home. The line manager should make a record of the discussion and what was agreed.

Options available for quarantine period (not an exhaustive list)

• Working from home – temporarily for those who ordinarily work within a clinical environment where possible. Consideration must be given by the line manager to the fairness of the application of home working.
• Line managers may consider that some time is appropriate to work from home undertaking non patient facing duties, and the rest of the time as annual leave / unpaid leave / time owing.
• Utilise additional annual leave compensated by a period of unpaid leave
• Take unpaid leave
• Work additional hours over an agreed period to make up the time
• Consideration may be given for post travel quarantine payments in extenuating circumstances (e.g. attendance at a family funeral in a non-exempt country).

 We have produced a flow chart regarding the process to follow.

 6. Are looking after your mental health and wellbeing?

 The Recharge Booth continues tomorrow

The Recharge Booth is a ‘virtual’ space that allows you to come together with others, to reflect, recharge, decompress, and join a safe and confidential discussion. Hosted by Richard Burnell, it runs every Thursday at 2pm, sharing stories from different colleagues over a 20-30 minute session.

For more information please contact Richard Burnell on 07747 144874, Angharad MacGregor on 07976 322893 or Claire Hubbard on 07866004575. Alternatively 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.

Wellbeing programme launching this Friday

This Friday, 14 August the Trust will be launching its wellbeing programme. We are implementing a strategy to support improved wellbeing among:

• Our own workforce
• Our patients
• Our communities, with a focus on children

For colleagues, this will begin with the launch of the healthy weight element of our programme. We will have a suite of options available to help support:

• Mental wellbeing
• Physical health (activity & exercise)
• Nutrition (food & drink)

More information will be shared tomorrow ahead of the launch on Friday. Watch this space!

Evening maintenance work on Unity: Thursday 13 August 7pm – 9pm

As we prepare to upgrade Unity on 26 August our supporting Vendor Cerner are making changes to the servers on Thursday 13th August.

Aside from a brief delay in response for any new connections to Unity for approximately 5 minutes at 7pm we are not expecting any user impact. Colleagues already logged on will not be affected. The work is taking place between 7pm and 9pm.

The activity will be closely monitored. As always please call the 24 hour IT service desk if you experience any issues on ext 4050 or 0121 507 4050 for home workers.

Could you be a Flu-per Trooper?

Dust off your flares, pull on your platforms and grab your glittery glad rags – this year we are going all out with an ABBA inspired flu campaign.

We’ll be adding a little sparkle to our step as we all pull together to tackle the flu. 2020 has been far from a normal year and that’s why we’re getting our ‘Flu-per Troopers’ ready now, so that before winter sets in, we know we’re prepared.

This year, we’ll be taking a different approach to how we administer the flu vaccine. We will have our very own Flu-per Troopers representing areas right across our Trust. We’re going local and getting personal as we prepare to protect colleagues from the flu and this is where we need your help.

We are recruiting registered health professionals to help administer vaccines in their areas. If you can say ‘I do, I do, I do, I do, I do’ want to be a part of this year’s flu campaign step this way. All dancing queens (and kings) are welcome to submit their interest.

We’d love to hear from you if you can commit to being a Flu-per Trooper in your area. The name of the game is to vaccinate as many colleagues as you possibly can. The winner takes it all this year with a prize that is guaranteed to make you say ‘mamma mia’ for the most vaccinations administered.  To complete your immunisation training head over to Flu Training on ESR.

COVID-19 caught the world off guard but we know the flu is coming, it’s preventable and we already have a well-tested quadrivalent vaccination on offer. With your support we can protect you, our colleagues, patients and those we care for the most.

If you would like to support the campaign and join the Flu-per Troopers contact Bethan Downing at bethan.downing1@nhs.net.

Implementation of Trac Recruitment System

A new recruitment system, known as Trac is being implemented within our Trust. It is a major project driven by the People and OD directorate to streamline the recruitment experience for candidates and managers alike.

The system is already in use in over 180 UK NHS Trusts, all of whom have seen huge benefits and positive improvements in their time to hire. This is a system that has been developed specifically to meet the needs of NHS organisations.

The Trac system is an interface system that links in with NHS Jobs, the Electronic Staff Record and the Disclosure & Barring Service. Whilst applicants will still apply for posts via the NHS Jobs system, all of the processing of the initial vacancy, through to the short-listing, recruitment and appointment phases will be managed via the Trac system.

Implementation Dates

The implementation of Trac has begun today, 11th August 2020 and so managers may begin receiving email notifications. Please bear with the Recruitment team during the transition period and further information and training will be provided soon. The aim is for managers to start using the Trac system independently for all recruitment from September 2020.

Further Information

Further information on the Trac implementation within SWB, including details of training will be communicated to managers over the next few weeks.

If you have any queries, please contact Michelle Jarrott, Recruitment Manager (michelle.jarrott@nhs.net) or Amir Ali, Acting Head of Resourcing (amir.ali1@nhs.net).

Support our medicine and emergency care matrons in raising funds for Your Trust Charity

Our medicine and emergency care matrons led by Julie Thompson the group’s director of nursing are raising vital funds for Your Trust Charity by climbing Mount Snowdon on Wednesday 23 September.

To support the team you can visit their fundraising page by clicking here.

Are you interested in raising funds for Your Trust Charity and helping enhance the patient experience at our Trust? If so, be sure to get in contact with amanda.winwood@nhs.net and see how you can help!

Stars of the Week – Lucy Kynaston and Joanne Bradley

This week we have two Stars of the Week – Lucy Kynaston and Joanne Bradley, assistant practitioners in imaging.

Lucy and Joanne have been invaluable during the pandemic surge. They have been recognised for their flexibility in covering shifts, being pro-active in using Capman and Unity and training others in how to use them. In addition to this they regularly exceed the department’s key performance indicators making them both hugely valuable to their team and the Trust as a whole.

Do you know someone in your team that has gone above and beyond the call of duty? Why not put them forward for Star of the Week by clicking here.

Drug safety notice and supply issues

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

• Safe use of emollients information sheet
• Ecalta 100mg concentrate powder for solution for infusion information sheet
• Abstral 200 microgram sublingual tablets information sheet
• Risk of overdose with alfentanil information sheet

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

Latest edition of Heartbeat now online

Welcome to the July edition of Heartbeat. Get ready to read all the latest news, updates from your area and lots of good news stories that are guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. Whether you’re on your break, taking five or putting your feet up after a long day at work, please enjoy.

This edition features lockdown through the eyes of frontline medics, the Trust shines a light for 72nd NHS anniversary and Kamal Deep cutting her hair to raise funds for Your Trust Charity.