Monthly archives: November 2020

Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 20 November

This time next week we will have announced the winners for our 2020 star awards. The shortlist is really impressive, as well as all of the hundreds of nominations received. As you know, we have had to change our plans from the normal glittering awards event to a virtual show but do pop the date and time in your diaries (27 November: 12 noon) and watch if you can. Every day next week we will be publishing again the shortlisted candidates through the daily bulletin, prior to our big reveal on Friday. If you can’t join in at the time then there will be ample opportunity for you to watch the ceremony at your convenience. It will be fantastic to see a snapshot of the amazing achievements from teams and individuals right across the Trust over the past year and beyond. Check out the Communications Bulletin next week for details of how you can join in the show.

Community and hospital Covid+ cases continue to rise and I know many of you are feeling the intense pressure that this creates. Thank you for all that you are doing to treat our patients, adapt quickly to ward changes, work in unfamiliar areas, support your teams and colleagues and your determination to keep going. We have a number of Covid Q&A sessions set up where you can listen to an overview of the latest situation and ask any questions. Next week we begin our participation in the national programme to test all patient-facing staff. This is to identify asymptomatic cases so that people can quickly self-isolate if they have tested positive. We will begin next week with a phased approach and in coming days all staff will need to collect a number of self-test kits to be used twice weekly for 12 weeks. Details of how you take the test and what to do with the results will be shared with you. The aim is to minimise transmission of Covid-19, particularly within our services. Our infection prevention and control guidelines are the main barriers against transmission, but quick identification and isolation of positive cases is also essential.

We were visited this week by the Health and Safety Executive who are routinely entering a number of workplaces to assess how well we are following the government guidelines to keep staff and the public safe. Thank you to the teams who supported the visit. The HSE were impressed with the way our clinical patient streaming is done, as well as the arrangements to ensure the right PPE was available  including our fit-testing programme. They were less impressed with some of the adherence to guidelines on social distancing and mask wearing in non-clinical areas, be that office space or staff rooms. We have been consistent in sharing messages about the importance of social distancing, handwashing and wearing the right PPE both in our clinical work and when you are on a break, travelling home or enjoying some rest time at home. It is vital that we don’t let our guard down so make sure you and your colleagues and abiding by the guidelines, and challenge those who don’t.

The respiratory hub team celebrate their first birthday this week. What a year it has been for the team! The hub brought together staff from across the Trust to create a dedicated specialist respiratory centre at City Hospital. No-one could have predicted what would face the team in their first year. They have been, and continue to be, at the forefront of care for people with Covid-19, as well as providing vital care and treatment for people with other lung conditions. They continue to develop the hub and work closely with teams across the Trust to provide the best support for patients.

There are two last and very important asks of all of you over the next week. Responses to the national NHS staff survey close on Friday 27^th November. It is really important that all of you spend a few minutes completing this survey. Final reminders were sent out yesterday so check your emails, follow the link and fill it in. The survey gives us good insight into things we need to change here to improve our organisation as a place to work. It also provides valuable benchmarking against other, similar organisations. The last few prizes are still available that will help with your festive shopping so don’t delay.

The second final push is for our flu vaccination campaign You only have until the end of the month to get your flu jab. This is because we need to plan for and begin delivering (hopefully soon) the Covid-19 vaccine. This vaccine is likely to require people to have a break of a number of days between receiving the flu vaccination and then receiving a Covid-19 vaccine. The sooner we complete the staff flu campaign, the sooner we can get geared up to delivering the Covid-19 vaccinations when they are ready. Make sure you book an appointment now with your local team flu-per trooper or drop in to one of the very many clinics available for you.

Our Star of the Week is Samantha Tromans, Theatre Stores Assistant. Samantha was nominated for her tireless work to make sure everyone in theatres has all the equipment they need, managing good levels of supplies for the team. The team have benefited from Samantha’s excellent work including ensuring the right PPE was in place. Thank you, Samantha, from all your colleagues and congratulations for being a well-deserving star of the week.

To end with some brilliant news for the Trust – we have been shortlisted in four categories of the annual Health Service Journal awards programme for our work on sustainability, the fabulous alcohol care team, our smoke free programme and Dr Sarb Clare who not only receives a MBE but is also shortlisted in the national clinical leader category. Congratulations to all of you. The award winners are set to be announced in March next year. It is particularly relevant that the alcohol team’s work has been recognised this week as it is Alcohol Awareness Week – an initiative that aims to encourage open conversations about alcohol consumption and signpost people to help and support if needed. You can read the very personal story from one of our volunteers here. Rachel is now giving back to help others with alcohol addiction. Rachel’s work, alongside the treatment provided by the alcohol team is instrumental in changing the lives of individuals and families within our communities.

David Carruthers, Acting Chief Executive

Staff survey: Have your say and be in with a chance to win £50 worth of shopping vouchers

There are now just 5 days left for you to have your say through the National NHS Staff Survey. Thank you to the 2735 colleagues who have already completed the survey. The survey helps our Trust see what issues colleagues raise and understand how to make improvements. In order to ensure that any changes made as a result truly reflect the views of all colleagues, we need more of you to have your say, so please do so now.

If you complete the survey you could be one of six lucky winners who will take home shopping vouchers worth £50!

The national survey is mandatory for all NHS organisations and the results inform national initiatives that can help support improvements in staff experience and well-being. Importantly we are able to benchmark our results against other organisations. This helps us to see where we excel compared to other, similar organisations and also where we are not as good as some other Trusts. Looking at those Trusts that score more highly than us in certain areas will provide a good way of us to learn from other high performing organisations.

The results are also used by NHS England to support national assessments of quality and safety and the Care Quality Commission uses the results to inform their Intelligent Monitoring work to help to decide who, where and what to inspect.

Every member of staff has been given the opportunity to have their say. Surveys will be distributed predominantly through email with a small number of colleagues receiving papers copies. Please take the time to complete yours. The results will be reviewed and acted upon so we can make our organisation a great place to work. We had our highest response rate ever last year so let’s see if we can beat that!

Note: The email survey will come from  survey@quality-health.co.uk (with the subject heading NHS Staff Survey 2020 Invitation: Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust). If you have not received your survey, please contact the communications team on ext. 5303 or email  swbh.comms@nhs.net. The survey will be open until Friday 27 November.

Will you be having your free flu jab? You have 10 days left to get yours

Our 2020 flu campaign will come to an end on Monday, 30 November.

So far over 5,000 colleagues have had their flu jab. Thank you to each of you for stepping forward to not only protect yourselves but to help us be as prepared as we can be as a Trust for this winter.

If you still wish to have your flu jab, there is a limited time in which to now do so. Getting your flu jab couldn’t be easier. We have a selection of drop-in clinics available this week. Everyone is welcome to attend, including those of you working remotely. You can also arrange your vaccination with your local Flu-Per Trooper – see Connect to find out who is looking after your area.

Remember, when you have your flu jab you are entered into our grand prize draw to win tickets to see Mamma Mia! The Party in London.

If you have had your vaccine elsewhere or wish to decline, please copy and paste the below information (whichever applies to you), complete it and email it to swbh.seasonal-flu@nhs.net

If you have had your vaccine elsewhere (e.g. GP practice, pharmacy, other NHS Trust) please complete the details below:

Complete all fields

If you wish to decline having the vaccine (do not use this option if you have received the vaccine elsewhere – use the above)

Complete all fields

Time to order a little Christmas cheer!

Our medical illustration team have created a little Christmas cheer for colleagues to purchase for their children this year. The specially designed Children’s Christmas boxes are now available from the medical illustration team. Each box is jam packed with festive activities ideal to engage children over the seasonal break. Priced at only £25, the Christmas box offers great value and includes;

• Family framed illustrative print
• 2021 Calendar
• Personalised letter from Santa Claus
• Stickers
• Naughty or nice chart with stickers
• Children’s puzzles and games
• Christmas arts and crafts
• Colouring and crayons

For more information please email swbh.midesign@nhs.net or to order download the form below to complete and email in.

Christmas Box Order Form 2020

Palliative care and the supportive care

We all have different ideas and thoughts about how we would want to be cared for in the last months and days of life.  Clinicians at the Trust can access the supportive care plan to help us give personalised care to people with advanced life-limiting illnesses. It provides a structure so that we can ensure that that our patients goals are at the centre of decision-making in the last months, weeks and days of their life.

It is set out in a document in either paper form (for community colleagues) or electronically (Unity or SystmOne1) and guides healthcare professionals to consider with the patient if some treatments are beneficial or not and to plan care appropriately as well as meeting symptom control needs. There is a guide clinicians can refer to in order to help with those decisions. It can be adapted and added to as people’s goals change.

Making sure it’s completed in full is critical and you can find a quick reference guide on Connect and training for doctors and nurses on using is available on the Unity training portal. Any questions or comments please get in touch with the Connected Palliative Care Team.

COVID-19 Bulletin: Thursday 19 November

To keep up to date with the pace of change we will be sharing a bulletin on a daily basis. There’s a lot of change taking place at the moment so please make sure you catch up with the latest bulletins throughout the week, as even if some points seem familiar you may find the details have been updated a great deal.

During this second lockdown period, we must ensure we look after ourselves and others within our community. Make sure you keep in touch with those you love and your neighbours. People may well be feeling anxious, lonely and scared at this time.

Thank you for looking out for one another.

Numbers not statistics: This week (Last week)

1. New: Services on the move as part of COVID plans

Colleagues should be aware of a series of service moves that have taken place at the City site, as part of the Trust’s COVID plans.

The Medical Infusion Suite (MIS), including clinical immunology, has now relocated from D42, in the main building, to the oncology unit situated on the ground floor of the Birmingham Treatment Centre for the foreseeable future.

The Emergency Gynaecology Assessment Unit (EGAU) has moved into D42, and also has six emergency beds for inpatients. Whilst, D21, its’ former location, continues being home to Gynaecology and Gynaecology-Oncology elective patients along with Breast, creating a ‘green’ post-surgery recovery ward.

When ward changes are confirmed, these will be reflected on the ward tracker, which you can find on the front page of Connect.

2. Updated: Working From Home arrangements extended

Thank you to all those who completed our Working From Home survey, which has now helped to shape updated guidance.

As you know, we continue to evaluate what is best for colleagues and the services we provide, and this new document will now be in place up to 31 March 2021. We plan to issue a longer-term strategy about home working arrangements in the coming months to carry the Trust through the period to 2023 and to put arrangements on a firmer and more contractual footing.

This ensures fairness for existing and new employees and clarity about eligibility and decision making. We expect this longer-term guidance to lead to more home working than pre COVID-19, mindful of social distancing and the open plan nature of office accommodation in particular in the Trust’s estate from 2022.

The COVID SAFE office space review to ensure that those working on site can comply with the two metre rule has now been completed.  The Health and Safety team have written to managers who must ensure they have responded. If you require any information on the safe office space review then please contact Jacque Calloway on ext 4118 or Ruth Spencer on ext 2914.

If you haven’t completed the WFH survey please could you do so before 26 November when it will close.

You can read the policy in full by clicking here.

3. Reminder: Trust’s COVID-19 response plan Q&A sessions

A series of briefings are being held for colleagues who wish to find out more about the Trust’s plans as we face a second surge during the pandemic. They are being led by our Executives over the next two weeks and are being held via WebEx.

Colleagues will be given an opportunity to ask questions about our COVID-19 response plan.

Our second session this week is being held tomorrow at 10.45am for one hour. To join the briefing go to: https://swbhnhs.webex.com/swbhnhs/onstage/g.php?MTID=e59c590edf4adec548c2b89b43a4dbf2f

Further briefings are planned next week – more details on these sessions will be confirmed soon.

4. Reminder: Purple bags = rapid labs

If speed is of the essence with your sample, the recent introduction of purple bags make identification and prioritisation easier for the lab. These are replacing the “being phased out” urgent two hours priority stickers, which can still be used as necessary.

Wards must regularly check to ensure  that they have adequate stock of COVID-19 swabs and purple bags for the weekends and out of hours.

If you need these bags out of hours they can be collected from D18 at City Hospital and the Bryan Knight Suite at Sandwell. Please note that rapid swabs are not processed overnight but will be done the following working day.

We also currently have temporarily increased availability of urgent and rapid PCR sampling to 158 tests per day for two weeks only until 29 November. Urgent respiratory PCR including COVID-19 is also now increased to 30 tests per day, if you need to take advantage of this please do so while you can, being sure to secure your sample correctly

If you have an urgent sample:

• Place the correctly labelled specimen into a clear specimen bag and sealed fully
• Repeat this process, using the second larger clear zip locked specimen bag
• Add this doubled bag specimen to a purple urgent COVID-19 sample bag
• The purple urgent bag can now also be posted into the COVID-19 drop off box

Further information on processing samples can be found on Connect by clicking here.

5. Reminder: Staying safe and praying in private

Due to COVID-19 and following the extension of the national lockdown restrictions, all congregational prayers have been postponed until further notice for all faith groups. This includes all Muslim congregational prayers, daily and Friday Juma’ah prayers in the BTC Prayer Room and in the Sandwell Meeting Room.

The prayer rooms and chapel will however remain open for colleagues to use for private prayers. Colleagues are also welcome to pray in rooms available within their own areas.

Please ensure you follow the handwashing guidelines and practice social distancing. If you require any further information then please contact the chaplaincy department through switchboard.

The prayer rooms and chapel will remain open for individual prayers. Private prayer rooms can be found in these locations:

• Sandwell prayer room and chapel – second floor
• City prayer room and chapel – first floor
• BTC Centre prayer room – second floor

Rowley Regis prayer room and chapel – ground floor

Free flu jabs end this month – you’ve got 11 days to get yours

Our 2020 flu campaign will come to an end on Monday, 30 November.

So far over 5,000 colleagues have had their flu jab. Thank you to each of you for stepping forward to not only protect yourselves but to help us be as prepared as we can be as a Trust for this winter.

If you still wish to have your flu jab, there is a limited time in which to now do so. Getting your flu jab couldn’t be easier. We have a selection of drop-in clinics available this week. Everyone is welcome to attend, including those of you working remotely. You can also arrange your vaccination with your local Flu-Per Trooper – see Connect to find out who is looking after your area.

Remember, when you have your flu jab you are entered into our grand prize draw to win tickets to see Mamma Mia! The Party in London.

COVID-19 Bulletin: Wednesday 18 November

To keep up to date with the pace of change we will be sharing a bulletin on a daily basis. There’s a lot of change taking place at the moment so please make sure you catch up with the latest bulletins throughout the week, as even if some points seem familiar you may find the details have been updated a great deal.

During this second lockdown period, we must ensure we look after ourselves and others within our community. Make sure you keep in touch with those you love and your neighbours. People may well be feeling anxious, lonely and scared at this time.

Thank you for looking out for one another.

1. New: Self-testing for frontline staff is coming

As you may be aware, twice-weekly asymptomatic testing for all patient-facing colleagues will be rolled out across NHS Trusts nationwide –  so that includes our organisation.

This will be introduced next week, with a phased approach, using the new lateral flow antigen test. Carrying out this test will help to identify any asymptomatic Covid positive cases and helps ensure we are playing our part in keeping patients, fellow NHS workers and our families safe.

Each person will be given a total of 25 tests which they should perform prior to their shift every three to four days.

We will be releasing more details about where the testing will be initially rolled out and a guide on how the kit works along with a video over the next few days.

2. New: Sandwell PPE stock room now at Cyber Café

The PPE stock room at Sandwell Hospital has now moved to the old Cyber Café, which is located in the basement. It is no longer in the Bryan Knight store room.

There is an ample supply so there shouldn’t be any shortages of PPE either during normal working hours, or out of hours. Colleagues wanting to access it out of hours are able to so do via Security and the Clinical Nurse Practitioners.

If wards are concerned that they are running low on their PPE stock, they can request an urgent top-up during office hours via:

• Sandwell – Gurprit.galsinh@nhs.net, rebecca.vanes@nhs.net, debra.chetwynd@nhs.net
  
• City – lisa.southall1@nhs.net, mark.shervington@nhs.net, jgraham9@nhs.net, earl-edward.ebanks@nhs.net

3. Updated: Swab once, seal tight – get the test right

Did you know by packaging a COVID-19 swab incorrectly, it will lead to the sample being rejected? This means a delay in receiving the result for a patient.

Ongoing issues around swabbing include:

• leaking samples
• duplication
• incorrect specimens being received

Our Infection Prevention and Control team has put together a very helpful document which lists common issues and the relevant solutions. Click here to read the full document so you can ensure that if you are packaging swabs, you are doing it correctly.

To read more about swabs there is a “how to” guide here.

4. Reminder: Last day for Scrubs amnesty tomorrow

Have you been stockpiling scrubs at home or in your locker? If the answer is yes, then now is the time to offload and hand them in, as the clock is ticking on our our scrubs amnesty ending tomorrow.

No questions will be asked, each and every staff member who returns scrubs will earn themselves a delicious chocolate bar by way of encouragement.

Currently we do not have sufficient sets of scrubs to meet the increase in demand as many have been stored and stockpiled by individuals, contrary to Trust policy.

A drop off point is now available in the main reception at Sandwell Hospital, open 10am and 3pm,  where returned scrubs can be deposited and once laundered will return back in to circulation.

The systematic supply and laundering of the scrubs is dependent on staff returning them at the end of their shift pattern, when people take scrubs home or store them in their lockers they remove them from our stock and deplete the numbers available for circulation, putting a strain on supplies and our ability to provide scrubs where they are required.

Please support us by taking scrubs to the drop off point at Sandwell Hospital main reception next week, and earn yourself a tasty treat for your journey home.

No scrubs rules:

• No scrubs should be stockpiled in lockers – they must be laundered regularly on site
• No scrubs should be worn in undesignated areas
• No scrubs should be binned, they should be deposited in to the blue trollies situated on the links and in departmental areas
• No scrubs should be worn outside the hospital or while travelling to and from hospital or taken home for laundering. By doing so you are putting yourself, your family and the public at risk.

Remember, when the amnesty is over, managers and colleagues alike will be challenging colleagues they see arriving or leaving work in scrubs.

5. Reminder: Next COVID-19 staff briefing this Friday

We are holding a number of virtual staff briefings for any colleague to attend and find out more about our arrangements for this second wave of the pandemic. The briefing sessions will also include a Q&A session where you can quiz Trust leaders on the COVID-19 plan.

Our second session this week is being held Friday at 10.45am for one hour. To join the briefing go to: https://swbhnhs.webex.com/swbhnhs/onstage/g.php?MTID=e59c590edf4adec548c2b89b43a4dbf2f

Further briefings are planned for 23 and 25 November – more details on these sessions will be soon.

6. Reminder: Have you visited the Wellbeing Sanctuary yet?

The mental health and wellbeing of our colleagues is paramount especially during this current pandemic which is why we are inviting colleagues to visit our Wellbeing Sanctuary – a place of calm.

The sanctuary gives colleagues a chance to de-stress and relax in a confidential safe place.

Do you fancy a free:

• Massage
• Chill out downtime over a tea/coffee and a biscuit
• A chat – a listening ear or a chance to talk about anything in confidence
• Meditation
• Mindfulness
• Relaxation hypnotherapy
• Music therapy

The Wellbeing Sanctuary is based at Learning Works on Unett Street, Smethwick, B66 3SY. There is free on site parking.

To book yourself a free session please call 0121 507 5886, or for further details please see the daily sanctuary information sheet.

Palliative care and the supportive care

We all have different ideas and thoughts about how we would want to be cared for in the last months and days of life.  Clinicians at the Trust can access the supportive care plan to help us give personalised care to people with advanced life-limiting illnesses. It provides a structure so that we can ensure that that our patients goals are at the centre of decision-making in the last months, weeks and days of their life.

It is set out in a document in either paper form (for community colleagues) or electronically (Unity or SystmOne1) and guides healthcare professionals to consider with the patient if some treatments are beneficial or not and to plan care appropriately as well as meeting symptom control needs. There is a guide clinicians can refer to in order to help with those decisions. It can be adapted and added to as people’s goals change.

Making sure it’s completed in full is critical and you can find a quick reference guide on Connect and training for doctors and nurses on using is available on the Unity training portal. Any questions or comments please get in touch with the Connected Palliative Care Team.

Voulez-vous the flu jab?

Our 2020 flu campaign will very shortly be drawing to a close. So far over 5,000 colleagues have had their flu jab. Thank you to each of you for stepping forward to not only protect yourselves but to help us be as prepared as we can be as a Trust for this winter.

If you still wish to have your flu jab, there is still time. As you may have seen in the news, there is good news about a potential COVID vaccine which may be available in the weeks and months ahead. There will likely be a need to take a break between receiving the flu vaccine and the COVID vaccine, so we need to ensure everyone is protected from flu over the next two weeks.

Getting your flu jab couldn’t be easier. We have a selection of drop-in clinics available this week. Everyone is welcome to attend, including those of you working remotely. You can also arrange your vaccination with your local Flu-Per Trooper – see Connect to find out who is looking after your area.

Remember, when you have your flu jab you are entered into our grand prize draw to win tickets to see Mamma Mia! The Party in London.