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Monthly archives: May 2021

Learning disabilities hospital passports

 

Have you ever met a patient with learning disabilities, and they appeared distressed or unhappy? Wouldn’t it be great if there was someone who knew them? Their likes and dislikes. What their vocal sounds meant? Wouldn’t be lovely to have a plan? So you know for example how a patient liked to eat?

Well help is at hand. Each home for learning disabilities should provide a hospital passport which covers many aspects of a patient’s life.

Many homes provide these but they sometimes go missing. So if a patient with learning disabilities is admitted to your ward, ask to see the learning disability passport. If they don’t have one, give the home a ring and ask for it. Or check the notes, if you have seen the patient before they will have one attached to Unity (either directly in the notes or on CDA).

Note: Most homes are able to email you a copy of their passport.

Please see a copy of a blank learning disability passport for reference.

Do you still need your COVID-19 vaccine? Limited appointments available at Oldbury today

 

There are a limited number of appointments available today (Friday 8 May) for colleagues to get their first dose of the Pfizer – BioNTech vaccine.

The jab is available at the Portway local vaccination service, Newbury Lane, Oldbury. The service is open till 8pm this evening.

To book an appointment, please email Sonia.simkins@nhs.net.

Changes to collecting blood from the issue fridge and blood bank at Sandwell

 

Colleagues are reminded to use the blood collection form when collecting blood components from the issue fridge or blood products from blood bank.

Note: The form will need to be completed in full prior to collecting the blood. The form can also be accessed on Connect.

Access blood collection training on Connect: You can update your yearly blood collection training by following the link on our Blood Transfusion pages on Connect.

The update includes a short training video that must be watched prior to answering the knowledge questions. This video gives you all the information required to be able to complete the knowledge questions.

For more information or if you have not been trained to use the current blood issue fridge then please email swbh.Bloodtransfusion@nhs.net to arrange your training and competency assessment.

Star Awards 2021: Volunteer of the Year

 

Do you know an individual who has made a significant impact to our Trust whilst volunteering or a person who has shown selflessness and determination to support the people around them?

Nominate them for the Volunteer of the Year Award in this year’s upcoming Star Awards!

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Ways to nominate:

  • You can complete a paper nomination form which you can download by clicking here.
  • You can send in a video nomination for free to swbh.comms@nhs.net via www.wetransfer.com. Choose go to free. When doing the recording remember to state clearly who you are and the name of the person/team you are nominating.
  • You can complete the online form by clicking here.

Be sure to check out last year’s award ceremony featuring Volunteer of the Year 2020,  Kay Deep (timecode: 14 minutes, 31 seconds).

If you have any questions regarding the Star Awards, please contact the communications team on 0121 507 5303 or email swbh.comms@nhs.net.

For more information, please visit our dedicated Star Awards page on Connect.

Free bike checks at Sandwell on Monday

 

Colleagues can take advantage of a free cycle check in the courtyards gardens at Sandwell Hospital on Monday 10 May, 12pm – 2pm.

If you want your bike looked over, please email Francesca.silcocks@nhs.net who will be provide you with a 20 minute timeslot.

Lockable bike pods now available: At both City and Sandwell, we have installed blue, lockable bike pods that colleagues are welcome to use to store their bikes. Colleagues should bring their own padlocks should they want to use the bike pods. These bike pods are available on a first come, first served basis.

We must remind colleagues not to leave their padlocks on the pods when they are not in use. Please remove your lock at the end of your working day so that others have a chance to use them. This will be monitored and locks will be removed if necessary.

Interested in getting a bike? Our Trust runs a cycle to work scheme which gives huge savings on brand new bicycles and easy deductions through payroll (salary sacrifice). For more information, please click here.

Heartbeat: Health visiting service welcomes eight new student health visitors

 

Recently the SWB health visiting service has recruited eight new student health visitors to the service. The new students are qualified nurses and midwives and will train to achieve their Specialist Community Public Health nursing qualification.

The course will help the team develop a broad knowledge of the complex issues of specialist practice. It will focus on public health practice, developing evidence-based public health knowledge and skills within a public health context. The course is 50 per cent theory and 50 per cent practice, so the blended approach will allow the recruits to develop their skills whilst learning on the job.

The new students bring a wealth of experience, knowledge and skills into the organisation. They will complete their studies at the University of Wolverhampton and have four practice assessors and eight practice supervisors on hand to help them succeed.

Sofia, one of the new recruits, told Heartbeat: “This is such an exciting opportunity, and I am looking forward to working with families in Sandwell.”

Paulette Duzan, Interim Clinical Lead for Health Visiting, told us: “By working within communities, public health nurses can educate families about health issues, improve community health and safety and increase access to care. It is a pivotal role, so to have eight new students joining our team is a real boost. They will make such a positive difference to the work we do and the children and families we look after.

“The students will be supported by experienced practice teachers and mentors. Having people around them that they can lean on and learn from, will help to develop them and for them to grow into their new roles.”

Paulette added: “These current times have been and continue to be difficult for a lot of people. Families, in particular, have been impacted negatively, and with reduced support/services, there will be more vulnerability in our communities.

“Our health visiting service has continued to work on the frontline in our communities throughout the pandemic. We are proud to have been able to continue providing essential support to families. Plus, our past students were able to obtain the relevant learning experience, which has led to them becoming proficient new health visitors, something we are pleased to have been able to support as a service.”

Dr Nick’s ninth #Dance4Wellbeing – send us your photos and videos

 

As you may have seen at the start of April, Dr. Nick Makwana led you through the eighth in a series of #Dance4Wellbeing routines to help you get up and go. The routine was based round Fatboy Slim’s Rockafeller Skank.

the month of May, Nick has come in with a routine based around Master KG’s Jerusalema and is joined by many familiar faces from across our workplace.

You can see all their fantastic moves by clicking on the video below.

We’re encouraging colleagues from across the Trust to send us their photos and video clips of their fantastic moves to  swbh.comms@nhs.net.

In case you have missed any of the previous routines you can check them out by clicking here.

For more information please contact Johnny.shah@nhs.net.

Would you like to update your CPD?

 

Creative thoughtfulness in the care of others is a course divided into six hourly modules focusing on the small things that can make a world of difference in hospital. The course, which is hosted by Kissing It Better is available to both clinical and non-clinical colleagues and is CPD accredited.

For further details please see creative thoughtfulness in the care of others information sheet.

For more information and to sign up, please email mail@kissingitbetter.co.uk.

Star Awards 2021: Digital Leader of the Year

 

Do you know a leader or manager who has inspired or brought about clear and demonstrable outcomes in terms of digital ways of working?

This could include changing processes to reduce reliance on paper, improvements in service or care for our patients, or financial savings.

Nominate them for the Digital Leader of the Year Award in this year’s upcoming Star Awards!

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Ways to nominate:

  • You can complete a paper nomination form which you can download by clicking here.
  • You can send in a video nomination for free to swbh.comms@nhs.net via www.wetransfer.com. Choose go to free. When doing the recording remember to state clearly who you are and the name of the person/team you are nominating.
  • You can complete the online form by clicking here.

Be sure to check out last year’s award ceremony featuring Digital Leader of the Year 2020,  Joanne Bryer (timecode: 8 minutes, 57 seconds).

If you have any questions regarding the Star Awards, please contact the communications team on 0121 507 5303 or email swbh.comms@nhs.net.

For more information, please visit our dedicated Star Awards page on Connect.

Junior Doctor’s forum: 10 May

 

The next Junior Doctor’s forum is scheduled to take place on Monday 10 May, 1pm – 2pm.

Please see WebEx joining instructions below:

Note: There will also be limited seating where you can join the meeting in room 11 of the Education Centre at Sandwell (max capacity 5 people) and tutorial room 6 in the Postgraduate Centre at City (max capacity 9). This will be available on a first come, first serve basis. 

For the full agenda ahead of the meeting, or if there are any discussion points that you would like to ensure are included as part of the meeting, please email thomas.wallbridge@nhs.net.

 

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