Monthly archives: September 2020
Car parking update: Message from David Carruthers, Acting Chief Executive – option to use New Square multi-storey car park for temporary overspill
Message from David Carruthers, Acting Chief Executive:
I recognise the issues there have been with car parking as the new multi-storey car parks are being built at the City and Sandwell Hospital sites. This has meant significant disruption for people arriving to site and I am sorry for the problems this has caused and if you have been late starting your shift or clinics as a result. As I described in my message on Friday, the car parking is necessarily reduced for the period of time before the new car parks open (summer 2021).
In order to address the problems, at Sandwell we are:
- Offering the multi-storey car park at New Square to people who are struggling to find a car parking space as they arrive. This doesn’t mean your parking pass on site will be removed but for one month we would like to offer you this option to park at New Square. It is likely to save you time in looking for a space and to avoid issues that come with parking in the surrounding streets. (This is likely to be those arriving on site after 8.30am and leaving up to 6pm. You can use your pass at other times to access the site car parks depending on your shift work). To take up this option you must contact the car park admin office – swbh.carparkidadminoffice@nhs.net or ext. 6424 with your car make, model and registration number. This will ensure you don’t get a fine at New Square – we have no control of the number plate recognition there.
- Moving more non-clinical staff to New Square. You will have been notified if you are affected. I appreciate that this is not popular. The New Square car park is approx. a 10 – 15 minute walk. The multi-storey car park is easy to access with good lighting and CCTV, and there are regular security patrols by the New Square security. Our security team have a stock of keyring torch alarms if anyone would like one for personal security.
- The introduction of a “late” car park at Sandwell. If you arrive after 11.30am you can use the car park at the rear of Trinity House (accessed by turning left in front of the mobile scanning unit from the main car park entrance). This will help with occasions when you work a late shift and need to leave late.
- Creation of more staff spaces on the Little Lane car park to be used by the ED colleagues.
- Provision of emergency car park spaces for clinicians on call who need to travel cross-site for emergency patient care. This must be used appropriately in emergency situations only. The spaces are in the Sandwell “late” car park facility.
Below is a Google map image showing the shortest route (10 mins) from the New Square multi-storey car park to Sandwell Hospital marked with the blue dotted line and alternative routes marked in grey (12 mins).
You can see the route in detail by using the following link: https://goo.gl/maps/oMnP7oV4wdex6Ym78
At City we are:
- Relocating some of the unused patient transport vehicles to create more space near the estates building/behind Anne Gibson
- Helping you to find parking areas that usually have spaces available – these are highlighted on map below in the link below.
- Keeping the “late” car park available by the Old Management Block
- Keeping the emergency clinical spaces outside maternity.
You can see a map of the additional spaces at City on Connect by clicking here.
I know that many of you are using alternative modes of transport to get to work and all of this is helping. If you have other thoughts on ways to get to work that don’t require a parking space or additional support that we could provide please get in touch. We are always open to ideas and suggestions.
Black History Month 2020
Thursday 1 October marks the start of Black History Month when we honour people of African and Caribbean descent who have and continue to shape the history of our country and that of the NHS. Black people make a rich contribution, and a huge impact on our national and cultural life enriching communities all over the UK as business leaders, teachers, musicians, nurses, doctors and much more.
In an unprecedented year that has seen many heroic effects by colleagues across our organisation tirelessly to fight COVID-19, we have chosen Mary Seacole as our figurehead in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, conscious of the many colleagues drawn from different traditions, faiths, and communities.
In 1991, Mary Seacole was awarded the Jamaican Order of Merit and in 2004 was voted the greatest ever Black Briton. Mary was an exemplary nurse who worked to tend to the sick in the Crimean War.
There is much more work to do to ensure everyone in our workplace has the opportunity to succeed and make their unique contribution, regardless of their background or skin colour. This is something that has come to the forefront with the Black Lives Matters movement.
Following the BME Staff network meeting in the summer work is proceeding to work up a plan to ensure our workplace is fair and equal for all of us.
And this Black History Month we are also recognising national Speak up Month. Take your opportunity to have your say through the NHS Staff Survey or by approaching staff network leads or Freedom to Speak up Guardians. There are many ways to speak up which you can find on Connect or in August and September’s Heartbeat.
Pause and join in with mindful yoga
A new addition to the wellbeing podcast library is a yoga video series “Mindful Yoga with Chris”.
Take time to pause and join in the free online sessions.
There are multiple benefits of yoga both mentally and physically as it may help reduce stress and improve relaxation levels.
For a full list of wellbeing services on offer visit Connect.
Heartbeat: Keeping mum – maternity guide reimagined for our local community
An essential maternity guide to allaying anxiety is the latest publication to be fully translated into multiple other languages as the Trust continues a push to make more of its information and guides available to non-English speakers.
The COVID-19 related publication, Managing Anxiety in the Perinatal Period, is the latest in a series of important messages worked on by library services, communications and the interpreter service that have been translated into other languages to help with the accessibility of key information in our geographical area. This leaflet, in particular, has been translated into five additional languages: Bengali, Kurdish, Punjabi, Romanian, Tigrian and Urdu.
“If you are pregnant, or have recently had a baby, it is reasonable to expect that you might be feeling more anxious than usual,” explains Anuji Evans,
External Communications Manager. “By translating leaflets into other languages, specifically ones prevalent in our local area, or ones that have been identified as being useful by the service concerned, we’re helping as a Trust to educate, and inform those harder to reach people within our community. No one is left in the unknown because their first language isn’t English.”
Previously, only primary messages and items that specifically required certain languages – be they via leaflets, posters, graphics, videos or animations produced by the Trust received translations. However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has changed matters, and the Trust Board has identified that an increase in translations would be beneficial to healthcare within the community.
If your service has leaflets that require updating, or you have a new one that needs to be created, please email swbh.library@nhs.net or call ext. 3587. Please note, they will respond to your request within six working days and the process to update or create your leaflet will begin.
Getting in touch with the recruitment team
In order to provide an effective recruitment service, please see below attachment in regards to details for each team member.
Recruitment team contact details
Recruitment team leader duties include (but are not limited to):
- Overseeing the recruitment process for their allocated areas
- Approving vacancies that have been submitted for approval
- Confirming start dates with the candidates and relaying the date back to the manager
- Preparing and sending contracts
- Supporting/training managers with understanding Trac
Recruitment officer duties include (but are not limited to):
- Advertise vacancies once approved
- Send shortlisting
- Send interview invitation out once the manager creates schedule
- Sending out conditional offers
- Carrying out/processing pre-employment checks including requesting and chasing references, checking ID and RTW, administering DBS, checking progress on occupational health clearance
Should you have any concerns with the service you are provided, please contact michelle.jarrott@nhs.net or amir.ali1@nhs.net.
Junior doctors’ forum via WebEx: 5 October, 12.30pm-2pm
The junior doctors’ forum is an opportunity to raise any issues you may have. These will be attended by the junior doctor forum co-chairs and Dr Wright (guardian of safe working) and Professor Khan (head of education). All doctors are welcome to attend, and it is hoped each speciality has considered a representative.
The forum will take place over WebEx with a limited spaces on each site:
- City: Education Centre, tutorial room 6, (max 9 person capacity)
- Sandwell: Education Centre, room 7 (max 6 person capacity)
WebEx login details:
WebEx app:
- Meeting number: 137 958 4304
- Meeting password: xFxJ4erTp33
For more information please contact thomas.wallbridge@nhs.net.
Heartbeat: Wave goodbye to… Karen Godwin
After 36 years of service, we have said goodbye to Karen Godwin, Hotel Services Manager.
Karen joined our workplace in June 1984 as a domestic assistant in a bid to support her family. She told Heartbeat: “When I joined I realised there was an opportunity to develop so I took the opportunities that became available. I trained in supervision within ward services which saw me secure a supervisory role. I soon moved on to become general office manager, and after completing my degree in Management Studies at the University of Wolverhampton in 2010, I was appointed to my current role in 2015.
“I am grateful to the Trust for all the support they have given me to develop my career over the years. I have always had incredible support from my line manager and the teams I have managed,” reflected Karen.
“Hotel Services is a wonderful department; the teams are hardworking and always put the patients’ needs first. Their dedication to their work has always shone and during this pandemic they have gone above and beyond to keep our hospitals clean, delivering food service to our patients, providing laundry and linen services. It has been my absolute privilege to work as a part of such a dedicated team, I will miss them dearly.”
Jan Clarke, Head of Support Services, has worked with Karen for several years. She said: “Karen has been a loyal, professional and hardworking manager and she has been an asset to the Trust. Retiring is a very happy occasion for Karen – I know that she has been looking forward to hanging up her boots; however, for myself and her colleagues, it is tinged with sadness because she will be missed. We all wish her the very best for her future.”
So, what does Karen have planned for her retirement?
“Not waking up at 5.30 am every day,” she laughed. “I look forward to spending time with my family and hopefully when the world gets back to some sort of old normality, doing lots of travel.
Heartbeat: Imagine a story…from our school nurses
Our team of school nurses have taken a leaf out of the CBeebies’ book – quite literally by creating their own story time videos for children.
The short films have been produced to encourage parents to read to their children, but also help to ensure youngsters are ready for school when they go back in September. School Health Support Worker, Faisal Khan, organised the virtual sessions, which will be shown via social media and on the school nursing website page. Faisal, along with school nurses Heidi Ferrier-Hixon, Joanne Toovey and Beth O’Connor, have all read a story.
He said: “Summertime is exciting for the Sandwell School Nursing Team as we help children and parents get ready for school in September.
“Listening to feedback from parents and schools, some children may need a little extra time and help to get ready for school. It’s a happy time for some, but can be worrying for others and this can have a big impact on children starting school life.
“The team have designed a fun-packed programme for families. These sessions are normally located all over Sandwell from community centres, schools and libraries. Unfortunately due to COVID-19, this year we won’t be able to meet face-to-face with families, but that has not stopped the service providing support.
“This year we have arranged to communicate with our families virtually to share information and storytime will be online for children to enjoy. In addition to that, there are specific areas where the child may need help such as bedwetting, toileting, healthy eating, emotional wellbeing, accident prevention, head lice and hygiene.
“Parents and their children are invited to attend our sessions to seek advice and support. The sessions have been advertised across the internet.”
Launch of NHS Test and Trace app
You may have seen new QR code posters going up at locations across the Trust where it is likely people will gather for periods longer than 15 minutes (such as outpatient clinic areas, our cafes and emergency departments). These posters are unique QR codes for the specific location they are in and are for patients to ‘check in’ so they can register that they have been in that location at a specific time.
The codes are essential to the new NHS Test and Trace app which will help us understand where and how quickly the virus is spreading, so we can respond quickly and effectively. It will be used alongside traditional contact tracing, to notify users if they come into contact with someone who later tests positive for coronavirus, while protecting users’ anonymity. For more information please read the FAQs
Please note and remind your colleagues that the app must be paused while at work, although you are encouraged to use the app when not on site.
COVID-19 Bulletin: Monday 28 September
Welcome to a new week and a change to the COVID-19 bulletin. You may have noticed the last couple of bulletins have been a bit heavy on the updates, this is perhaps not surprising considering the changing situation we are seeing locally and nationally. From this week on, until things ease once again, we will be issuing the bulletin twice weekly on Monday and Thursday. The ‘numbers not statistics’ section you usually see below this introduction will return on Thursdays to maintain a weekly update.
Things are tough – and may well get tougher – but we remain determined to do what we can to reduce avoidable harm and death among those we are taking care of. Kindness must remain our watchword in all that we do.
1. New COVID-19 classification changes
Following recent national guidance relating to infection prevention and control we are moving to a new classification system for our services.
From Tuesday 29 September some of our planned admission areas where there are already stringent testing and isolation procedures in place for patients will become our new green areas. These are areas of low risk where patients have been self-isolating prior to attending or may have had a negative covid-19 swab result.
From Wednesday 30 September we will change our “blue” wards to the colour “amber” – nothing will change in terms of PPE or swabbing but this keeps us in line with the new national guidance.
Our current red areas will remain in place and as before these represent our high risk areas where patients with confirmed cases of COVID-19 are being treated or where there are aerosol generating procedures being undertaken. Lilac wards will also remain in place as an additional step down area for patients who have previously tested positive for COVID-19 or who have been in contact with COVID-19 positive patients.
Please ensure you are up to date with the status of the ward or area you are working in. Clear guidance on the PPE requirements of each area will be displayed on the posters at the entrance to each ward and department and all colour changes will be reflected on the homepage of Connect. The guidance on the new classifications is attached.
2. New swabbing guidance
Updated guidance is now available for the collection and processing of COVID-19 PCR swab testing. Colleagues should now be using white swabs with red topped containers to collect COVID-19 PCR swabs, these should also be used for urgent testing. Please print two extra labels and a request form for all COVID PCR requests
Where urgent PCR swabs are collected, colleagues must ensure that the ‘Urgent CEPHEID 2 Hour TAT’ sticker is attached to the outer blue transport bag.
Black swabs should no longer be used for patient sampling, any remaining stock in areas can be used for urgent testing in agreed priority areas only.
Remember:
- Every patient MUST be swabbed on admission.
- Patients on Lilac wards MUST be swabbed every 3 days.
- Patients on Blue\Amber wards MUST be swabbed every 5 days.
How a swab is collected is also extremely important.
The team has produced a quick ‘how to’ video that shows you how to collect and package a PCR swab for Coronavirus.
If the sample is urgent, please ensure the outer blue transport bag is clearly labelled with the appropriate ‘Urgent’ sticker and hand deliver to Pathology reception.
Further information on the changes to COVID-19 swabbing can be found in the attached document
3. Lending your support to Critical Care – Join the ICU Reservists Team
Thank you to everyone who stepped forward and supported colleagues in Critical Care during the first surge in COVID-19 cases earlier in the year. We are now looking to welcome nursing and health care support colleagues from across the organisation in to our newly formed ICU Reservist Team.
With cases of COVID-19 beginning to once again increase, we may need to increase the size of our ICU service significantly at short notice to cope with the additional clinical needs. To cope with this, we need people like you to make sure we do it quickly and safely.
If you have previously worked in Intensive or High Dependency care, have other skills that you think you could offer or just a wish to be part of the Intensive Care response to COVID-19 then please register as an ICU Reservist.
Your contribution could vary from occasional Bank shifts to full redeployment for the duration of the pandemic and the team will work with you and your current managers to facilitate that. You will be offered training and support to help you become an essential part of our team.
Register to join the ICU Reservists Team
4. You go home, Scrubs do not
Further to previous messages in the bulletin regarding the laundering of scrubs, we must once again remind you to not take scrubs home with you. People not laundering scrubs and removing them from site or even throwing the scrubs away reduces the amount of stock available for designated areas. These include theatres, red wards or areas that require scrubs as identified by infection control or senior management.
Support Services undertake the laundering of Trust owned scrubs from Sandwell Hospital in our onsite laundry. All used scrubs must be placed in the blue trollies situated on the links and in departmental areas as indicated below.
- Scrubs should not be stockpiled in lockers
- Do not wear scrubs in undesignated areas.
- Under no circumstances can scrubs be worn outside the hospital or taken home for laundering. The public are aware this should not be done, and the Trust has received a number of complaints on the matter which are being taken seriously. If you turn up to work already in scrubs in the future you may be asked why this is the case.
Maintaining the supply of scrubs to essential areas is dependent on everyone following the same process when it comes to laundering scrubs.
5. Use of the NHS COVID-19 app
As you know the NHS launched their COVID-19 contact tracing app last week. The app is designed to help the NHS understand where and how quickly the virus is spreading, so we can respond quickly and effectively. It is being used alongside traditional contact tracing, to notify users if they come into contact with someone who later tests positive for Coronavirus, while protecting users’ anonymity.
You may have seen posters featuring QR codes for people with the app to ‘sign in’ at selected locations across our sites, but there has been some question as to whether Trust staff using the app should sign in at our locations. The recommendation from the NHS is that health or care workers should pause the app when:
- You are at work following infection prevention and control (IPC) guidance.
- You are wearing correct PPE at work.
- You are working behind a fixed Perspex (or equivalent) screen and are fully protected from other people.
- You store your phone in a locker or communal area.
You can find a general FAQ on the app here.
6. If your child is told to self-isolate
With schools having restarted recently we are aware that some schools have been required to close certain bubbles after learning of positive COVID-19 test results among pupils or staff. Colleagues who have caring responsibilities for children in schools who are told to self-isolate should notify their line manager as soon as possible, however in most cases, where children are not showing any of the common COVID-19 symptoms, colleagues do not also have to isolate. Our staff swabbing service can arrange a test for a member of your household with symptoms (including children) but cannot carry out a test for children who do not have symptoms.
COVID-19 symptoms include:
- a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
- a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
- a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you’ve noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal
If you need to isolate because you have symptoms or someone in your household does, please inform your line manager. If you have childcare issues because of a school bubble closure you must discuss this with your line manager so that you can agree a working arrangement and the support you need through this difficult time. This may involve allowing you to work from home or take carers leave, annual leave, parental leave or accrued TOIL (Time Off In Lieu).
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