Monthly archives: December 2020

Support cancer services and bid on some fantastic prizes!

You can now bid on some amazing items  including a weekend break and your very own personal session with a Rod Steward tribute act – all to raise money to the Trust’s Cancer Services Fund.

The items are listed in an Ebay auction, organised by the service and supported by Your Trust Charity.

It will end on Monday 7 December and other items include hampers for children, a football signed by West Bromwich Albion players and luxury gift sets.

The auction is part of a fundraising drive by the Living With and Beyond Cancer team and an incredible pair of handmade diamond earrings are also up for grabs in a raffle, being held separately from the auction.

The  beautiful pair of handmade yellow and white gold, diamond and emerald earrings were kindly donated by Jewellery Quarter-based A&A Jewellery in Birmingham, and are worth a staggering £765. The winner will also receive a Certificate of Valuation for insurance purposes.

For every £5 donated individuals will be allocated a strip of five tickets. The draw will be filmed and the winning ticket will be drawn independently on Friday 18 December.

Jenny Donovan, Cancer Services Manager for the Living With and Beyond Cancer team, said: “We offer our heartfelt thanks to A&A Jewellery for donating this incredible prize. The owner has personal experience of the impact of cancer. The Living With and Beyond Cancer Team is a small team of five, but we’ve all had personal experience of cancer, not just through work but through our friends and family too. Ultimately it will affect us all at some point in our lives, either directly or indirectly.”

You can bid on the auction by clicking here.

TeamTalk briefing last Wednesday

TeamTalk took place on Wednesday 25 November where colleagues were briefed on national and regional updates as well as the latest news regarding COVID-19.

If you were not able to make the session you can download a copy of the briefing presentation below and watch the TeamTalk video.

TeamTalk briefing slides

Mamma Mia! This is your last chance to get your flu jab

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. You can also arrange your vaccination with your local Flu-Per Trooper – see Connect to find out who is looking after your area until Monday 7 December.

If you have had your vaccine elsewhere or wish to decline, please email the team to let them know via swbh.seasonal-flu@nhs.net. 

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: Thursday 3 December

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.

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. Updated: Self-testing COVID kits – using the test could save lives 

The initial roll out of self-testing home kits for colleagues has now been completed. Thank you to all of you who have submitted your results onto Connect so far. If you haven’t yet received a kit and work in a patient-facing area, please speak to your service lead and ask if they have included you in the submission that they have made for additional kits required.

It’s really important that each time you use the lateral flow test your result is recorded – whether it is positive or negative. Thousands of frontline colleagues have received the kits, however only a small number of results have been submitted so far.

The lateral flow tests are designed to 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. Recording these results could help to save lives.

This is why it is so important that, if you have taken a kit, you use it and record your results.

You can upload your test results here via Connect, when you are on the Trust network.

Important information for managers distributing kits:

Please return your completed collected kits proforma to sandwell.adminhub@nhs.net along with the number of additional kits required.

2. Reminder: Gloves – and we’re not talking about the fluffy warm ones!

Clinical colleagues – did you know that wearing gloves should be reserved for when you are treating patients?

And once you’ve cared for a patient, the gloves should be disposed of and you should follow the correct handwashing procedure before you put on another pair.

Importantly gloves should not be worn when using computers, whether that is in an office environment or when reaching out to a computer on wheels (COW). Cleaning your work station remains an important infection control and prevention step in this process.

And finally – please don’t use hand gel or sanitiser on gloves as it doesn’t work!

Click below to watch the video:

3. Reminder: Don’t deck the wards just yet…Christmas guidance IS coming!

Christmas will be different in all types of ways this year, and this will certainly also be the case at our Trust.

Infection prevention and control must be our priority for now and in the weeks and months ahead whilst COVID-19 remains with us.

For this reason we will be having very strict guidance on Christmas decorations in all areas (clinical and non-clinical).

The Trust will be providing laminated Christmas images and light projectors for most areas. It is really important that people don’t add to this with other decorations that aren’t able to be wiped clean. We will share more about Christmas arrangements in coming bulletins. Colleagues will be able to celebrate the festivities, but in a different way than in previous years.

Intravenous fluids and medications, cannulation and venepuncture training is changing

There is a new process for nursing colleagues to become competent in either:

• Intravenous fluids and medications
• Cannulation
• Venepuncture

The biggest change is the removal of the intravenous fluids and medications study day, the content of this day is covered by the e-learning package available via ESR.

The e-learning modules “IV Therapy Passport” and “IV Therapy Passport E-assessments” must be completed prior to competence being signed off on ESR.

Cannulation and venepuncture will remain a classroom based session that must be attended. To book onto this the candidate must search for “Cannulation and Venepuncture” training on ESR.

The document below highlights the individual steps to gain competence in each particular skill.

Intravenous therapies competency flowthrough

For more information please call ext. 6149.

Basic Life Support (BLS) sessions available now

To improve compliance for BLS and due to demand BLS sessions are now available to book on ESR.

Colleagues must complete their Basic Life Support eLearning modules before attending their practical training. Details on how to enrol on to eLearning training can be found on Connect on the following link. https://connect2.swbh.nhs.uk/learning-development/mandatory-list/

For details regarding dates and times, please see below:

• BLS sessions in December

To maintain social distancing guidelines, sessions will be capped to a maximum of 10 candidates. We will also be using electronic mannequins instead of the usual ones and wipes will be supplied.

Places are limited and if you find you are unable to attend the session please cancel via ESR to enable another colleague to have the opportunity of booking.

Colleagues are also reminded that they should attend on time otherwise they may not be able to participate in the training.

Community BLS:

Please click here for information and resources in regards to performing BLS in the community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 BLS guidance:

Please see the below COVID-19 basic life support (BLS) guidance. Importantly this is in regards to the minimum PPE that should be worn if someone has a cardiac arrest.

BLS guidance

For more information please contact swb-tr.SWBH-GM-Resuscitation-Team@nhs.net.

Heartbeat: Do you know how to restart a heart?

Did you know that there are approximately 66,000 out of hospital cardiac arrests every year? Would you know what to do if someone near you collapsed and stopped breathing? Would you be willing to step in and save a life?

Whilst the mention of cardiac arrests and resuscitation may make you think of a doctor or a nurse rushing to your aid, that’s not always the case. Out of hospital cardiac arrests are by their very nature sudden, devastating and leave the victim wholly in the hands of those around them.

To find out more about the ‘Restart a Heart’ campaign, Heartbeat caught up with resuscitation team Sister, Elizabeth Bennett. She said: “This year for Restart a Heart, we focussed our efforts on supporting our non-clinical colleagues to learn or refresh their basic life support skills, by being out on the road running one-to-one sessions at Sandwell, City and Rowley Hospital where our non-clinical colleagues had the opportunity to learn chest compression only CPR on one of our resuscitation simulation manikins.”

“We know that people now more hesitant than ever to step in. We want people to understand that cardiac arrests are sudden, can happen anywhere, and often they’ll occur when you’re out shopping, waiting for a bus or walking in a park. The only chance of survival is being reliant on the people around the person having the cardiac arrest being willing and able to step in to save their life. Current advice from the Resuscitation Council UK is to cover their face with a cloth whilst carrying out chest compression only CPR.”

Former nurse and now Chief of Finance Officer, Dinah McLannahan joined in with the basic life support training. Getting hands on with the resus manikin she said: “It’s been a while since I’ve practised, but it’s always useful to refresh your skills such a lifesaving technique, you never know when it’ll come in useful, or when it might save a life.”

If you would like to find out more about the training opportunities available, contact the resuscitation team on ext. 5908/6173 or email swbh.resuscitationtraining@nhs.net

Email notification to capture patient’s ethnicity?

There is a national requirement to increase the percentage of ethnic codes recorded on our Trust systems against our patients. Colleagues are reminded of the importance of asking patients their ethnic category when they attend the Trust as an inpatient, outpatient, direct admission or if they attend ED.

Ward clerks/matrons will receive daily automated email from sqlmessenger.user if they have not captured patient’s ethnicity within their ward. Please reply to viral.bhatt@nhs.net if you think you have received email incorrectly.

The ethnic category is contained within the patient details page within IPM, the tab is labelled as “sensitive” but this is where the ethnic category should be recorded.

Please see below image for details.

Christmas at the Trust: Christmas Jumper Day – 11 December

Our community’s generous support helps us to bring the magic of Christmas into our hospitals. Its a joy to see the smiles on the faces of our patients and staff during this special time.

Being a patient in hospital is never easy, but not having family around you at Christmas is going to be difficult for our patients this year more than ever.

As you are all  aware, 2020 has been a challenging year for the NHS.

So this festive season we need your support more than ever to bring the magic of Christmas to those in our care at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust. Whether that’s helping to fund treats for our patients and staff to enjoy on Christmas Day, or projectors to brighten up our hospitals, your support can make a difference.

You can also get involved this year by joining us in Festive Jumper Day on Friday 11 December. Don’t worry if you don’t have a jumper, you can wear festive accessories, such as headband, tie, earring or socks instead. All we ask is you donate £2 to our campaign.

Text YTCJUMPERDAY to 70085 to donate £2. Texts cost £2 plus one standard rate message and you’ll be opting in to hear more about our work and fundraising via telephone and SMS. If you’d like to give £2 but do not wish to receive marketing communications, text YTCJUMPERDAYNOINFO to 70085.

Your donations will make a huge difference for our patients who are with us over Christmas.  To donate please visit www.justgiving.com/campaign/SWBChristmas2020

£3 will buy a selection box for children.

£5 will buy a colouring book and crayons for children who are receiving treatment helping to cheer them up and get them into the spirit.

£10 will buy a present for a child or young person who is under our care as a gift from Santa.

£15 will fund a treat hamper for our older patients, including those with dementia. These hampers will include twiddle muffs, bed socks and treats to bring some festive cheer.

£30 will buy a lovely hamper full of treats for staff working on Christmas day to share with their colleagues.

Click here to donate!

Heartbeat: Medical engineering – Unsung heroes of the NHS

Monitors, diagnostics, medical devices and pumps, they’re all things that keep our patients safe and well when they’re in our care but have you ever wondered who keeps them working, serviced and safe? What goes in to making sure that every medical device does precisely what it’s supposed to do, that unenviable job falls to the electrical and biomedical (EBME) team, otherwise known as the medical engineering team.

Working in a large organisation, where technology has made its way into every single aspect of our lives, we know how frustrating it is when suddenly it does something unexpected or refuses to work. Imagine carrying the responsibility of making sure that life-saving and life sustaining equipment works all the time, everywhere and where a failure could lead to a lost life.

Whilst the members of the EMBE team might be unassuming – quietly working on repairing, servicing and testing equipment across our Trust, the work they do really does make a huge impact. The equipment managed by this team keeps newborn babies alive in the neonatal unit, it keeps patients safe during surgery, and it helps palliative care patients manage their pain. Their work and the impact they have has no bounds.

Recently, the maternity team celebrated the opening of the brand new neonatal unit (NNU), with its bright open layout with perfectly laid out spaces for each baby. What we didn’t mention was how involved the EBME team had been in the development and opening of this unit.

To find out more about the support they had provided the team on the Neonatal Unit, Heartbeat caught up with Advanced Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, Jenny Cadwallader-Hunt. She told us: “The EBME team were instrumental in much of the design and relocation processes for both critical care and the NNU when both services had to relocate to D16 temporarily last year, and again when we returned to the newly refurbished and extended NNU.

“A single baby in our care may have more than 20 medical devices connected to them at any one time, each vital to their care and often their survival. None of this would be possible with the engineers who service them and fix them when we do something wrong or the equipment malfunctions.

“They are a fab team, always willing to help and have exceptional patience with the requests we make. The work they do helps us deliver compassionate care, enabling incredibly poorly babies to spend quality time making memories with their families.”