Monthly archives: May 2021

Mouth care matters display board competition – more of our other entries

Thank you to all the teams that took part in the mouth care matters display board competition and congratulations to our winners Cardiology (first place), Priory 3 (second place) and D11 (third place).

Judging took place on Friday 14 May with the panel comprising Acting Chief Nurse, Melanie Roberts, Clinical Procurement Specialist Nurse, Janice Nelson and Group Director of Nursing – Medicine and Emergency Care, Julie Thompson.

In the communications bulletin we will continue to feature the display boards that were submitted for the competition. Today we highlight Lyndon 2, D12, ITU City and Newton 5.

Star Awards 2021 – Clinical Team of the Year (children)

Do you know a team that has provided consistent, high quality care for children whilst meeting financial and operational targets, a team that has demonstrated best practice or has driven forward improvements in patient care or has pulled together through particularly difficult circumstances? This could include teams who care for children across our Trust settings and services, not just our specialist paediatric teams.

Nominate them as the Clinical Team of the Year (children) at 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 last year’s winner for the award, the neonatal unit (timecode: 53 minutes, 16 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.

COVID-19 Bulletin – Friday 21 May

Numbers not statistics: This week (last week)

No. of our patients confirmed with COVID-19	No. of positive COVID-19 patients who have been discharged	No. of COVID-19 positive patients who have died in our hospitals	No.of COVID-19 positive current inpatients	No. of COVID-19 research trial participants to date
6,388 (6,357)	6,378 (6,355)	1,210 (1,209)	21 (17)	1,135 (1,135)

1. New: COVID-19 Indian variant – infection control guidance

You will already be aware that Public Health England has stated that a variant of COVID-19 first detected in India has become “a global variant of concern”. In preliminary studies it has been found to spread more easily. In light of this we need to continue to be vigilant in our approach to managing COVID-19, particularly for those patients who come to our hospital sites via the emergency department needing admission. The updated guidance below must be followed:

When triaging in ED – all patients must be screened for symptoms and asked about recent travel to India but also any current hot spot areas in the UK such as areas in the North West including Bolton.
If patients are symptomatic of COVID-19 with a history as above, they should be isolated in ED in a single room.
Patients who are not symptomatic but have travelled should follow our usual Point of Care Testing (POCT) and swabbing procedures.
FFP3 masks should be worn if suspicious about the Indian variant.
POCT to be undertaken immediately.
A sample will need to be sent for sequencing if POCT is positive.
If PCR test is positive contact tracing will be undertaken for face to face staff – this is for surveillance purposes only and staff can remain at work if they show no symptoms; and the saliva test (LAMP) / lateral flow test remains negative. See below for how to register for LAMP testing.
Contact tracing patients as per agreed protocols will be undertaken.
If the patient needs admitting please admit to a side room only.
If there is more than one patient suspected of the Indian variant please cohort together.
If any there are any patient contacts of the Indian variant please do not mix these contact patients with non-Indian variant COVID-19 contact patients.

2. New: Take your ease – but maintain vigilance

On 17 May, easing of COVID-19 restrictions took place as ‘Step 3’ of the government’s plan went into effect following considering of four key areas:

The vaccine deployment programme continues successfully
Evidence shows vaccines are sufficiently effective in reducing hospitalisations and deaths in those vaccinated
Infection rates did not risk a surge in hospitalisations which would have put unsustainable pressure on the NHS
Government assessment of the risks has not fundamentally changed by new “Variants of Concern”.

This step means that now the majority of the indoor and remaining outdoor shops/stores are able to reopen with gathering limits increased both for indoors and outdoors. This has opened the way for cinemas and museums to reopen and the green light given to larger outdoor events and larger attendances at sporting and entertainment events. Guidance for close contact between friends and family has also been updated to be based on your own judgement from here forward. Face coverings will no longer be needed in classrooms or for students in communal areas in secondary schools and colleges. Foreign travel is also now possible to ‘green list’ countries.

This does not however mean that the risk is over, and the restrictions aren’t over either – just eased. Twice weekly home testing will remain to control infection rates remains for students, for example. We know that, unfortunately, a portion of the public will see these changes to be a full lifting. So it is important we continue to set the standard when it comes to vigilance, not just for the sake of our families and the SWB family but for our local communities as well.

It is important we continue to observe the three key rules wherever possible: maintain social distancing, wear a mask, wash your hands. We can all see the finish line now, and it’s tantalising close, but if we don’t keep moving forward together we’ll not get there at all. Everyone doing regular LAMP saliva testing for COVID (see below) will also help.

You can find out more about Step 3 here on the gov.uk website.

3. Updated: Welcoming visitors back to our sites

In April we started a phased approach to open visiting for some patients.

Stage 1 (12 April –17 May ) initial Pilot for 1 month PCCT Amber wards plus maternity and paediatrics – visiting now open in these areas.
Stage 2 (17 May onwards) – Introduce visiting to all Amber adult inpatient wards and departments including critical care.

All clinical groups are now working through plans to open visiting to all Amber areas by 21 June – a few areas will be open each week. All visitors need to call ahead to relevant wards to book a 30 min appointment slot to visit. During this call visitors should be screened to ensure they do not have any COVID-19 symptoms. Visitors will be required to wear a face mask when on site.

It is proposed that visiting will not be introduced to Red wards other than what we currently offer for visiting. We are still having discussions with clinical teams regarding the opening up of visiting on Green wards. We need to consider the clinical vulnerability of some patients undergoing elective surgery (cancer and colorectal being the two main concerns).

As a reminder, in all areas visiting inpatients is permitted for one person at a time for patients who are at end of life and those with limited mental capacity, one parent/guardian of a child as well as other exceptional circumstances. Please make a reasonable local judgement regarding the time you allow for each visit.

Please continue to encourage the use of mobile devices/tablets for families to keep in touch with their loved ones.

4. Reminder: Vaccines are still available – make sure you book your appointment

As you have no doubt read in the news, whilst lockdown has been eased (again, easing not ended) there is increasing concern about COVID-19 variants in particular the Indian variant of which there had been 2,323 confirmed cases in the UK as of Monday. According to reports, vaccinations are shown to have an effect against this variant of the virus which is causing such devastation overseas.

If you are yet to get the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination, please do so.

You can still book in to get your jab at either Tipton Sports Academy vaccination centre or at the Saddlers Shopping Centre, Walsall. Please note: If you are under 40 you’ll need to go to Saddlers at this time to receive a Pfizer jab. We expect to have Pfizer vaccines back at Tipton from 1 June 2021.

The hub at Tipton Sports Academy, Wednesbury Road, is running Monday to Sunday, 8am to 7pm.

Book your slot via the national booking website. You can also use this link to book an appointment locally to your home. For the Saddlers Shopping Centre follow this link to book: Walsall Saddlers Centre

We advise all colleagues to take the time to read the COVID-19 guide for healthcare workers.

Please ensure you take your Staff ID with you when you attend your appointment as it’s important you’re able to confirm you are eligible for the vaccination.

5. Reminder: Weekly COVID-19 saliva testing – keeping ourselves safe

We’d like to thank all of you who have registered for their weekly COVID saliva test (LAMP testing) which remains an important part in helping to keep the virus at bay in our organisation.

The only way to manage COVID-19 on a long term basis and to move away from the constraints of social distancing and wearing masks is to have a well-established and universally adopted testing programme where colleagues test themselves regularly and results are available quickly. Saliva tests give us the opportunity to carry out a non-invasive, pain-free test, and to have very reliable results returned quickly.

You may have been given lateral flow testing kits via your childrens’ schools. It is our strong preference that our staff who are attending sites more than once a week do the saliva test (LAMP). This will cover you for any testing requirements that schools may require and is a less invasive way of testing with a weekly test rather than twice weekly.

As a Trust there is an expectation that all colleagues who attend sites more than once a week carry out a LAMP test on a weekly basis. The table below shows the numbers of staff registered, those testing and the numbers that have tested more than once for each Group. To date 39 per cent of colleagues are registered to undertake LAMP testing.

The percentage of staff that have been using the test is 30 per cent. Of those, 84 per cent are continuing to take the test.

Whilst we have improved on our figure from last week, this still needs to be improved. It is vital that we continue to test despite colleagues having had the COVID vaccination and infection rates starting to drop. LAMP testing is available to both clinical and non-clinical colleagues, and you can now book a kit collection slot by calling 0121 507 2664 and selecting option 6. Further information on LAMP testing can be found in the linked FAQs.

Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 21 May

With all our teams at SWB looking at recovery plans for their service areas, recovery plans for their staff and adjusting to new ways of working in a world of both living with COVID and planning for the radical future of our new hospital, it is an ideal time to reflect on what worked, what didn’t and what needs to continue in your practice. But equally look at what other organisations are doing and look out for new evidence to support your clinical and management decision making process. It is not enough to have the right teams in right place to deliver high quality patient care. It is essential that they use the right knowledge and evidence at the right time to deliver radical changes and genuine quality improvements within our services – both in the acute and community. Evidence based management needs to combine with evidence based medicine.

The library and information specialists based at Sandwell and City libraries will help ‘heavy lifting’ the evidence for you to put in practice and save your time. In talking to their leader, Preeti Puligari, I have learned that the team is engaged in a Health Education England funded, NHS-wide shared repository project by collaborating across the Black Country Trusts. The aim is to deliver an online platform that our staff can access staff publications, patient information leaflets, quality improvement projects, lessons learnt from incidents, guidelines, research trials and more. This is taking place across 6 pilot sites in England and the Black Country & West Birmingham system is one of them. This is a wonderful opportunity for our staff to share our knowledge, our adoption of best practice, spread learning and learn from each other. Only by moving from pockets of innovation to system-wide improvement will the NHS deliver the changes that are needed to sustain and improve care at a time of unprecedented financial and service pressures.

Do get in touch with the library team at swbh.library@nhs.net or ext. 3587 to not only learn about the new resources that have been bought to help you make informed decisions but also the support they can provide you and your team to drive improvements and innovation within our organisation. The resource is there to use and its for anyone who wants to deliver their own evidence based improvements.

Congratulations to our Star of the Week, Wilhemina Goodwin, Nurse Associate who has been commended by her colleagues for the way she has continued to develop and progress beyond expectations. Wilhemina has been praised for her work with the multi-disciplinary team, her professionalism and her work ethics. Thank you, Wilhemina, and well done.

This week we celebrated Clinical Trials Day and it is great to see how the Trust’s research and development team have continued to promote research opportunities to colleagues and patients. Research remains at the core of the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and I am proud of the part that this Trust has played in the COVID-19 trials in order to find the best treatments and protection.

And, we continue with celebrations to recognise different professional groups within the Trust with Friday 14 May being the national day to recognise operating department practitioners (ODPs). During the past year the work of our ODPs has been exemplary and they are vital as we aim to reduce the backlog of elective surgery cases. Thank you for being a valued part of our SWB family.

Mouth care matters display board competition – some of our other entries

In the communications bulletin we will continue to feature the display boards that were submitted for the competition. Today we highlight AMU Sandwell, Lyndon 5, Newton 3, Priory 4

TeamTalk: Taking place on 26 May

TeamTalk is our monthly Trust-wide team briefing. The next session will take place on Wednesday 26 May at 1pm. Everyone is welcome to join.

Please ensure you are able to access a computer with speakers or headphones to enable you to participate.

Details on how to login are as follows:

To join the session from your computer click on the following link: https://swbhnhs.webex.com/swbhnhs/onstage/g.php?MTID=e17ece54b5efdbe0a340c7789d97c2e3b
Event password is “TEAMTALK”

If you have any questions about how you join the briefing please email swbh.comms@nhs.net.

The Domestic Abuse Act has recently changed

The Domestic Abuse Bill officially received a royal assent on 29 April.

The ‘landmark’ Domestic Abuse Act explicitly recognises children as victims if they see, hear or experience the effects of abuse and is designed to provide  greater protection to those who experience domestic abuse and to increase measures available to tackle perpetrators.

You can click here for further details about the measures and its benefits.

Is your tax code correct on your payslip?

It’s come to the attention of payroll services that HMRC may haven been issuing incorrect tax codes for additional secondary or bank posts which could result in you paying an incorrect amount of tax and receiving a bill for any underpayment.

For clarity the usual tax code, which allows you to earn £12,570 each year free of tax can only be attached to your main employment. Any additional bank and secondary posts should have a tax code of BR attached to them. Please note that the £12,570 figure relates to the tax year 21-22 and is usually updated each year by HMRC. The figure £12,570 translates to a tax code of 1257L so unless HMRC have contacted you directly regarding any change to your free pay allowance, this is the tax code you should see on your payslip for the main post you hold.

With this in mind, please check your payslips for all secondary or bank posts you hold to ensure it shows a tax code of BR. If it does not, you will need to contact HMRC on 0300 200 3300 directly to advise them of this.

Note: Have your National Insurance number with you when you phone. This is shown on any of your payslips.

For more information please contact annedavies7@nhs.net.

Communications Bulletin: Special Edition – International Clinical Trials Day

1. Celebrating International Clinical Trials Day

Today is International Clinical Trials Day which is celebrated on 20 May each year to recognise the day that James Lind started what is often considered the first randomised clinical trial aboard a ship on May 20, 1747.

It is an opportunity for everyone to recognise people who conduct clinical trials and to say thank you for what they do every day to improve public health.

It is also an opportunity for the research community to raise awareness of clinical trials – and of clinical research as a career option – among the greater public.

Gina Dutton, Head of Research and Development, said: “This year more than ever we need to celebrate the achievements that research has brought to our response to the COVID pandemic. “There has been plenty of research news, the drugs which help and those that do not, the rapid pace of development of the vaccines, but I want to focus today on the people that made this happen in our Trust.

“Many people will be aware that we have a research team and our job is to conduct research studies and ensure that the Trust is compliant with regulations. This year the team like everyone else have completely changed how we have worked and there have been some many learning opportunities. I am immensely proud of the team and how they have responded.

“I do want to say a special thanks and recognise all of the other Trust staff who do not have research in their job title who have ensured that our patients are able to participate in research if they wish to.

“In addition to those departments who often support research such as pharmacy and the labs, we have been supported by an innumerable amount of doctors and nurses on the wards and critical care.

“Colleagues from the medical infusion suite delivered trial treatments to patients on the wards and in critical care. Blood transfusion staff provided convalescent plasma. Infection control have completed reams of data about hospital acquired infections and phlebotomy have taken more than 10,000 of blood and PCR samples for the SIREN study, all of which have been processed by our labs and results distributed by occupational health.

“The business information team have helped us identify eligible patients.

“There have been some individual stars: the person in phlebotomy who raised awareness of SIREN and signposted colleagues our department so we could tell them about the research.

“The post porter who offered to deliver the paper copies of the information sheets around City Hospital.

“We had offers of help to raise awareness and get involved and medical students volunteering to help with data.”

2. Our clinical research facility – two years on

Let’s take a whistle stop tour of our Clinical Research Facility which opened two years ago.

We meet some of the colleagues who are working hard to contribute to the latest advances in healthcare but we also hear from those from the wider Trust who have taken part in research during this last year.

The Clinical Research Facility houses clinical rooms where patients taking part in studies are seen and there’s also a laboratory as well as office space.

Check it out in the short video below.

3. Do you know what happens to your data?

Have you ever wondered what happens to your research data? Well wonder no more! We have put together a short animation which shows patients what happens to their data if they take part in a research study or trial.

You can check out the short video below.

For information about out more about research and development please click here.

4. Why take part in research? Steven Shanu’s story

By taking part in a research study, you could benefit future generations and play a really important role in medical progress.
Play an active role in your own healthcare by gaining access to research treatments before they are widely available.
There is good evidence that a good level of research activity in a Trust has an impact on overall patient care outcomes.

Hear first-hand what it is like to be part of a clinical trial. Our very own Lead Pharmacist, Steven Shanu was part of the Oxford Astra Zeneca trial for the COVID-19 vaccine. Steven shares his story in this video.

5. Lifting the lid on COVID-19 research through new NIHR course

Over one million people in the UK have discovered the benefits of participating in clinical research during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, with the help of the NIHR’s new free online learning course, more people can now delve into the world of health research.

The NIHR is launching a new short course called ‘COVID-19: Understanding the research behind the pandemic.’ The course aims to uncover the UK’s strong health research operation in conducting critical research in the NHS – which discovered new vaccines and proven treatments in response to the COVID-19 global healthcare crisis.

The two week online course will only take two hours of your time each week and you’ll explore how the research community rose to the challenge to develop life-saving treatments and vaccines with patient safety at the centre of its work. This was only possible due to the unprecedented support from the public around the world willing to take part in clinical research to help fight this new disease.

6. Star Awards 2021: Excellence in Research

Do you know an individual or team who has participated in research which has made a demonstrable difference to patient experience and outcomes?

Nominate them for the Excellence in Research prize in this year’s upcoming Star Awards!

You can complete the online nomination form by clicking here.

Alternative 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 comms@nhs.netvia 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.

Be sure to check out last year’s award ceremony featuring last year’s winner for the award, the research and development team (timecode: 36 minutes, 32 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

7. Did you know?…

Since 2016 over 16,000 patients have participated in a research trial at SWB.
Over 200 different research trials have been conducted at SWB in the past five years.
Our Trust conducts research in over 25 different specialities.
Our Trust takes part in local, national and worldwide clinical trials.

8. Find out more and get involved

We have introduced some new research and development Connect pages which have been developed to help busy non research staff become more aware of their impact on research in our Trust. There are general sections for everyone to read and role specific information in Your Role and its impact on research, so whether you work in Trust Exec, corporate or clinical roles, there is information for you. The old research and development Connect pages will have an overhaul later in the year to make it easier for you to find out what research we are doing in the Trust.

You can also follow the team on social media:

Twitter: @SWBH_RandD
Facebook: @SWBHResearchandDevelopment

Star Awards 2021: Non-Clinical Team of the Year

Do you know a non-clinical team that has provided consistently excellent performance whilst meeting financial and operational targets?

Nominate them as the Non-Clinical Team of the Year at 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 last year’s winner for the award, the portering team (timecode: 50 minutes, 23 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.

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Monthly archives: May 2021

1. New: COVID-19 Indian variant – infection control guidance

2. New: Take your ease – but maintain vigilance

3. Updated: Welcoming visitors back to our sites

4. Reminder: Vaccines are still available – make sure you book your appointment

5. Reminder: Weekly COVID-19 saliva testing – keeping ourselves safe

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