Monthly archives: March 2021
National day of reflection – join us for a minute of silence at 12pm
Today (Tuesday 23 March) is National Day of Reflection where we aim to remember those who have died during the pandemic and to show support for everyone who has been bereaved over the last 12 months.
Spearheaded by the charity Marie Curie, today marks the one year anniversary of the country going into lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
We are encouraging both clinical and non-clinical colleagues to take a minute of silence today at 12pm to remember all those affected by the coronavirus across the country and world. You can take time to reflect in your areas or join colleagues outside if you wish or are able to.
Please observe social distancing during this event and if you are outside with colleagues, be aware that there is significant media interest in filming or photographing staff observing the minute’s silence.
Shine a light at 8pm tonight: We are also urging everyone to shine a light or light a candle at 8pm tonight for all those who have tragically lost a friend or family member due to the COVID pandemic.
Heartbeat: YHP at the heart of the community during COVID-19
On 1 April 2020, we officially welcomed Your Health Partnership (YHP) into our organisation. Working as an additional directorate, it marked the start of a new phase for both our organisation and Your Health Partnership. It has been less than a year that we have been working together collaboratively and what a year it has been.
As we progress through 2021, it’s only natural that we take a moment to look back on what we’ve achieved and our plans for the future. We caught up with Tom Finan, Patient Engagement and Transformation Lead to discuss all things YHP!
Without a doubt, the overarching theme for 2020 has to be the team effort that has gone into tackling COVID-19. Colleagues have stepped up and gone the extra mile to ensure patient care has not been compromised. Tom told us: “Everyone has done such a splendid job this year, we’ve all had our part to play, and the teamwork has seen us through these
trying times. Everyone from our clinicians to our non-clinical colleagues such as our reception and telephony teams, patient services, housekeeping and secretaries – we couldn’t have made it this far without a combined effort with us all pulling in the same direction.”
“2020 has seen our workforce adapt and make changes to how they work. There has been much flexibility among the team. Colleagues have had to work on new sites, meet new people and sometimes cover roles they are unfamiliar with at short notice. Others have had to work from home and isolate when family members have been unwell. It’s all been done without question and with a good dose of humour. Being able to have a laugh and a joke with colleagues has been uplifting as we have had a lot of challenges to face together.”
So, how did the team meet the ever-changing demands placed on them by COVID-19? “There were several operational changes we had to make,” Tom told us. “Effective communication has been at the core of what we’ve done since this all started. We set up our version of Cobra meetings called Yobra (YHP Cobra). It added a bit of humour but importantly meant we could all make sense of the information. This, in turn, helped us to make rapid changes.
“We also reduced the number of sites that patients were being seen face to face from seven down to two. It enabled us to provide colleagues most at risk with a safe location to work from. As the pandemic progressed, we were able to re-open in a planned way and are now back to four sites. One of our proudest achievements has to be that we were able to keep our services running seven days a week and increased availability during the evenings and at weekends. We have also been able to continue to support our care homes and intermediate care beds throughout this pandemic.”
2020 has enabled many teams to innovate, and that is something YHP have embraced. Tom explained: “One of the biggest positives has to be better use of technology for colleagues and patients. The use of laptops has allowed colleagues to work flexibly and remotely. We’ve used WebEx teams too, another first for us.
“We’ve also started actively using accuRx. It’s is a simple way of facilitating two-way communication with patients; holding video consultations and sharing pictures of things like rashes. We are also able to text advice and links to more online information to help patients manage their condition. Patients can also submit non-urgent requests for help with medical and administrative issues by completing an online form 24/7.”
Other stand out successes includes integrated working between YHP and Great Bridge. The nursing team is now operating as one PCN team. As well as this, a new paediatric clinic provides specialist GP input to improve the identification and management of children with chronic conditions in primary care.
Looking to the future, Tom says the team are looking forward to getting behind the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out programme. “We’re excited to start delivering the vaccine and helping our community move forward after such a difficult year.”
Star of the Week – Michael Reay
Our Star of the Week is Michael Reay, volunteer based at City Hospital.
Since day one of lockdown Michael has shown his commitment to SWB in supporting the Trust in a variety ways from distributing snacks, hot foods and wellbeing packs to way finding and PPE poster circulation across our hospital sites.
Michael has proved to be a real asset. He is perfect for the volunteering service and even has new volunteers shadow him. He also conducts local inductions for new volunteers at City Hospital too.
He is very reliable, nothing is too much trouble. Michael is a true star and even when something is very short notice, Michael is always willing to help.
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.
Alcohol teaching sessions: Alcohol withdrawal
Our alcohol care team have put together education teaching session videos. Be sure to check out this clip featuring Samantha Morgan, Alcohol Specialist Nurse talking about alcohol withdrawal and alcohol dependency.
Do you have any patients who would benefit from virtual Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)? AA provides invaluable support for people who are currently struggling with their drinking, or are recently abstaining from alcohol, so it is very exciting that we now have the opportunity to introduce AA to people before they are discharged. If you know of someone who may benefit from this, please contact the alcohol care team on ext. 5074.
Emergency maintenance work on the hot water systems at Sandwell Hospital this week starting tonight
The estates team are carrying out emergency maintenance work on the hot water systems at Sandwell Hospital. The works will be carried out overnight and may cause a possible disruption to the hot water supply in the Sandwell Hospital main block.
The work is being planned so that there is little, or no disruption so many of you will not notice any loss of hot water.
If the hot water is disrupted in your area overnight:
- Where hygiene needs of patients are required ward colleagues can use the single patient use cleansing foam. Note: the foam is not for multi patient use.
- Cold water can be used for handwashing.
If you have any queries please contact the estates team on 0121 507 4444.
Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 19 March
Congratulations to the four schemes who were finalists in the Health Service Journal awards this week, in particular to Fran Silcocks and all those involved in the winning entry for the sustainability award. Also to the alcohol service and Dr Sarb Clare who were both highly commended in their categories. I will also add my thanks and sincere congratulations to this week’s Star of the Week. Michael Reay is a volunteer who has been instrumental in supporting the Trust throughout the pandemic. He has been the linchpin of the volunteer support at City Hospital, attending almost every afternoon, coordinating distribution of snacks, posters, patient belongings and basically being on hand for whatever help has been required. Our volunteers are a truly valued part of our SWB family and as such it is right to acknowledge them in our workforce recognition schemes.
Our vaccine programme continues with the Sandwell hospital hub re-opening on Tuesday for second doses. Make sure you know when your appointment is or call the booking team if you need to check. First doses for any staff member can be arranged through the alternative vaccine hubs nearby including City Hospital. Check the COVID-19 bulletin to find out how to book your appointment.
Even if you have had your vaccine (first and second dose) we still need you to continue with the regular testing which has switched from lateral flow to LAMP. It remains really important that we pick up on asymptomatic cases so that we can best protect ourselves, our colleagues and our families. Details of how to collect your kit and where to deposit samples can be found by clicking here.
It is great to see the activities that the LGBTQ+ staff network are progressing. Please do your best to take part in the survey by clicking here to help the network further develop, and get involved in the regional LGBTQ+ History Month conference on Thursday 12pm – 3pm. The event is aimed at all colleagues and will help improve your understanding of how to better support colleagues and patients. Click here to find out more and reserve your place.
In this month’s Heartbeat column and in today’s message I talk unapologetically about dying, addressing some key and shocking facts about death and dying in the Black Country and in the west of Birmingham. These facts should jolt all of us into changing our attitudes to this, one of the two certainties of life.
I first became interested in the subject professionally, quite late in my managerial career. Prior to this, I was an unthinking slave to the notion that modern medicine could and should, seek to cure all and that we should stop at nothing to attempt it. Yet, I was influenced significantly by a palliative care consultant in my second Chief Executive role. She changed my thinking completely about the subject, by convincing me of the following things. An introductory conversation with our brilliant palliative care team leadership at SWB, reaffirmed this view:
- Death was a certainty.
- Too many people did not die with dignity and the evidence was there to prove it.
- We are avoiding the discussion about what constitutes a good death, more and more as a society.
- We are, as senior healthcare professionals, too squeamish about the subject
- We investigate and seek to treat people too much, who are palpably in their last few weeks or even days, of life.
- We pass the buck to the specialist palliative care teams too much, when end of life care is everyone’s responsibility. It is, to quote one of our Deputy Directors of Nursing, a “privilege” to nurse someone in their final hours.
Firstly, what are those facts? The Strategy Unit at NHS England did a study of death and dying in the Black Country and West Birmingham. They found:
- Nationally, an average of 66% of people say they want to die at home. In the Black Country, only 25% of people do so. People from deprived areas, and let’s face it, we serve that population, are more likely to die in hospital than people from more affluent areas.
- The median length of stay for people dying in hospital is less than 2 days and most were admitted to hospital as emergencies. So this begs the question, why do we admit people who are probably not going to benefit from that admission?
- In the last two years of life, over £172 million is spent on hospital services in the Black Country for decedents. Urgent care services in an unplanned way, accounts for two-thirds of this spend. This places us very high up a league table we would not want to lead, when compared to other systems/regions in the NHS.
- The number of deaths per annum, having reduced for decades, is now on the rise again. If our approach to hospital dominated death continues without change to practice, Black Country hospitals will need a further 100 beds by 2040 just to deal with that trend alone.
- There are numerous national and international research studies which show that much of the investigations and interventions in the last few weeks of life do not just add no value or quality to the care received, but may actually hasten death.
So what conclusions can we draw from this? At best, one could describe our approach to death and dying in our part of the world as uncoordinated and reactive. When 66% of people state they want to die at home and only 25% do so, we have a mountain to climb locally in meeting people’s expectations. Given our demographics and the socio-economic challenges we face locally, we must work even harder to turn that tide. To achieve that, we must change our own attitude to death as healthcare professionals in our Trust.
We are already quite well advanced in our thinking about how we are going to affect change in attitude and practice in this field. We have a competent, resilient and highly specialised palliative care team that straddles both acute and community care in both the “places” that we serve. That team have pulled together a quality improvement initiative which aims to achieve a better quality death for all our patients and residents. This will include better training, awareness and understanding of a subject matter we don’t tend to embrace well. It includes better symptom control, pain relief and clearer care plans, initiated earlier and in consultation with family members or carers.
All the above intent and planning is great stuff and, as the facts I set out here show, are long overdue. But they won’t achieve any element of it, unless all of us, every single one of us, embrace the change. To do so, we must throw out the outmoded and wasteful models of paternalistic medicine which can robotically seek to test, diagnose and treat without thought. We need to take responsibility for managing the care of people who are clearly nearing the end of their lives and not just rely on our specialist team to do that for us. Finally, we need to accept that we have an uphill challenge in this part of the world and we start from a low base in terms of good practice. That is our starting point – let’s accept the need to change.
Heartbeat: Emotive breastfeeding artwork features in maternity department
City Hospital was selected to display a portrait of a mum breastfeeding her newborn as part of a campaign by the artist to normalise the method.
Our Trust exhibited the artwork artist Leanne Pearce, who is gifting another 12 paintings to NHS organisations. She needed to raise £1,000 per painting to cover costs incurred and delivery with the piece Izzy and Evie is earmarked for the Trust.
Louise Thompson, Infant Feeding Coordinator, said: “We are delighted that City Hospital was chosen to receive this beautiful work of art and thankful to members of the community for nominating us.”
Leanne added: “I feel passionate about showcasing breastfeeding in a positive light, inspired by my own experiences of breastfeeding both my children.
“I began to paint portraits which brought breastfeeding to the fore, and the project is self-initiated. I’ve had an overwhelming response to the work, which I have taken across the UK to multiple venues. Some women have said they breastfed for longer after seeing the exhibition.
“I now feel it is vital that all the breastfeed portraits are displayed on a long term basis where more people can be exposed to this natural act to help normalise it, as well as starting conversations around it.”
COVID-19 Bulletin: Thursday 18 March
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| NB: Figures listed now represent the combined total during the pandemic.
1. New: Change to PPE guidance – Amber streamDue to the reduction of community rates of COVID-19 and continued reduction of COVID positive inpatients being admitted, we are revising our PPE guidance in-line with national PHE guidelines, so that colleagues working on Amber wards are no longer required to wear FFP3 masks when providing direct care for patients. This means from Monday 22 March when working on an Amber ward the PPE required when in direct contact with a patient will be a fluid resistant mask, eye protection (sessional use), disposable apron and disposable gloves. Posters on entrances will be updated in the next week to reflect this change. For Red wards or for Aerosol Generating Procedures in Red and Amber areas, continue to wear enhanced PPE (FFP3 mask/silicon mask/respiratory hood). In addition to the required PPE in your area, you are encouraged to follow your individual risk assessment for PPE. If you have not yet completed your COVID risk assessments you can do so on Connect. This may mean that, due to these individual risk assessments, different levels of PPE are being worn on the same ward. You can read the full updated PPE guidance on Connect. 2. New: South African variant identified in local areaIn last week’s Thursday bulletin we discussed COVID-19 rates in the community and how Tipton in particular was bucking the trend – and not in a positive way, with significantly high levels of infection remaining. Now, as you may have read in the press, extensive surveillance of COVID-19 has identified on the border of Oldbury and Tipton of the variant first discovered in South Africa. It is recommended that people aged 16 and over living within specific streets in the Oldbury/Tipton border area take a PCR COVID-19 swab test, even if they are not showing any symptoms. These include specific streets within the wider DY4 7, DY4 8 and B69 2 postcode areas, in an area loosely between Birmingham Canal in the north, New Birmingham Road in the south, Coneygree Road in the west and Vaughan Trading Estate in the east. Colleagues who live in this area should please get tested. You are able to come to work as normal providing you have no symptoms. Usual guidelines apply on isolating if test result is positive, or that of a household member. If you have questions about the targeted testing in the Oldbury/Tipton border area, please call the Healthy Sandwell team on 0800 011 4656 for advice.
3. Updated: Extra community drop off points for LAMP testing samples addedThe roll out continues for all colleagues to switch to LAMP (Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification) testing and as a result the number of collection boxes across our sites and in the community are increasing. Drop off points are now available at the following community venues: • Neptune Health Park, first floor, Sedgley Road West, Tipton. • The Lyng Centre for Health and Social Care, second floor clinical suite, Frank Fisher Way, West Bromwich. • Oldbury Health Centre, ground floor, Albert Street, Oldbury. • Victoria Health Centre, ground floor, Suffrage Street, Smethwick. • Rowley Regis Hospital, Outpatients. Additional drop off bins have been added to Sandwell site at: • Pathology • A & E • Bryan Knight Suite • Phlebotomy, first floor Outpatients Sandwell Corridor D Additional drop off points at City Hospital are planned and will be available shortly. We’ll keep you updated via the COVID-19 bulletin as to where these will be. The current drop off point at City is Phlebotomy, found on the ground floor of the BTC. 4. Reminder: Sandwell vaccination hub re-opening on 23 MarchTime flies, and we’re now at the point where the Sandwell vaccination hub is gearing up once again (for six weeks only) to see colleagues and administer jabs – in this case our second doses of the Pfizer vaccine, bringing not just additional protection but no doubt a great peace of mind to a great many of us. It’s not too late to have your first jab If you are yet to get the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination, you can still book in to get your jab at either Walsall Hospital or at the newly opened at Tipton Sports Academy vaccination centre. Alternatively colleagues can also book their jab through the Your Health Partnership Primary Care Network at Whiteheath Medical Centre in Oldbury. To book your jab online use one of the following links: · Whiteheath Medical Centre, Oldbury · NHS COVID-19 Vaccination booking – you can also use this link to book at the Tipton Sports Academy vaccination centre. Walk-in appointment slots are also available from the Primary Care Network vaccine hub at City Hospital, Sheldon Block until the end of March.
5. Reminder: 22 March is last date to request sell back of annual leaveMarch is already half way done and we’re rapidly approaching the end of this financial year. Staff have been actively encouraged to plan and take their annual leave, during the leave year, as part of maintaining their health, safety and well-being, particularly during this difficult time. Getting adequate rest and recuperation is vitally important for the physical and mental well-being of all our staff. There is an expectation, therefore, that staff will have been able to take at least their statutory minimum leave entitlement (28 days for full-time employees which is 20 days plus 8 bank holidays). However, given the current situation, we are aware that some permanent staff may have some outstanding annual leave, i.e. above their statutory minimum entitlement, which they have been unable to take due to severe service and capacity pressures during the year 2020/21. Therefore, in these situations, and as an exception to the Trust’s existing policy, staff have two options: · Staff will be allowed to carry over leave to the next leave year (1 April 2021 – 1 April 2022). The maximum leave that can be carried over will be the number of days above and beyond the employees statutory minimum, this being 5.6 working weeks per year inclusive of statutory holidays (equivalent to 28 days), plus any leave carried forward from 2019/20. · Staff will be able to sell back to the Trust their annual leave on the same basis, i.e. the number of days above and beyond the employee’s statutory minimum. For example if you receive 27 days leave plus 8 bank holidays, you could opt to sell up to 7 days leave, plus any leave carried forward from 2019/20. As above statutory leave provisions still apply, so you will still need to take at least 28 days of annual leave during 2020/21. This is important for supporting the health and well-being of staff at this challenging time. Let’s work together to make sure that all of our staff take the rest that they need. This arrangement also applies to colleagues whose leave year is different to the Trust’s financial year. Full details are in the guidance. For further information or to apply for this scheme please click here. The request form is included at the end of the guidance. The scheme closes on 22 March 2021. Send your completed forms to swbh.albuyback@nhs.net if you would like to make this request. 6. Reminder: Use the bins provided to get rid of your trashThe Trust continues to make efforts to combat the proliferation of rubbish around it’s grounds, in particular used masks and other PPE discarded by the public after visiting our sites. As always, you are reminded to dispose of your rubbish appropriately. You are urged to make use of the increased number of bins now available around our sites. In order to help with this, you may have also seen the litter picking team (pictured here at Sandwell earlier this week) helping to clear the grounds of any general trash old and new. Let’s support the team by doing our bit and throwing our trash in the bins provided.
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NHSSC code changes for finger and heel lancets
We have been advised that a new contract has been awarded for finger and heel lancets with immediate effect. This means that the NHS supply chain ordering codes have changed.
| Current code | New code |
| FTM054 – finger lancet (mini) | FTM124 |
| FTM121 – finger lancet (normal) | FTM125 |
| FTM515 – heel lancet micro preemie | FTM548 |
| FTM516 – heel lancet preemie | FTM547 |
| FTM517 – heel lancet newborn | FTM550 |
| N/A | FTM549 (there now is a newborn plus size) |
| FTM518 – heel lancet toddler | FTM551 |
For more information please email lisa.southall1@nhs.net or call ext. 4938.
Free webinar: COVID vaccination and pregnancy
Elly Charity and the WHO collaborating Centre for Women’s Health at the University of Birmingham have announced a free one hour webinar on ‘COVID-19 Vaccination for Pregnant Women and the Health Professionals Caring for them’ this Saturday (20 March).
This webinar is the opportunity to learn and ask questions about the vaccination from international expert Prof Paul T. Heath and understand how it relates to women wanting to get pregnant, already pregnant or breastfeeding. They will share experiences of the vaccination amongst women’s health professionals in the UK with Dr Gloria Rowland MBE including low vaccine uptake in certain groups and the range of beliefs from health professionals.
Dr Rehan Khan will explore health inequalities in access to the vaccine and share what resources are currently available to help the obstetric community and women themselves. This is also an opportunity to ask questions from experts with first-hand experience. For more information click here.
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