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Monthly archives: May 2021

Join our Midland Met Q&A session on Thursday

 

With all eyes fixed firmly on the opening of the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital (MMUH), we invite you to join our Q&A sessions where we’ll be talking about all things Midland Met.

MMUH is set to be one of the most technologically advanced hospitals in the region and will provide state-of-the-art integrated care for patients. This is your chance to put your questions about our new acute care facility to the MMUH project team.

You will hear updates from our Director of System Transformation, Rachel Barlow and you can put your questions to Ruth Wilkin, Director of Communications and Jayne Dunn, Director of Commissioning & Equipping.

Our Q&A session is for you to ask your questions and learn all about our move to MMUH. To submit your question ready to be answered on the day, please email it to swbh.comms@nhs.net.

All questions from the session will be added to our MMUH intranet pages on Connect. You can also read through existing FAQs here.

Our next Q&A session will take place on Thursday 13 May, 12pm. You can join the session by clicking here.

Note: Please ensure you enter your name and email address in the registration panel on the right and enter MMUH as the event password.

Mental Health Awareness Week: Wellbeing Wednesday – Are you okay? Really, are you okay?

 

Are you okay? really, are you okay? – We often ask each other this question but do we really answer it or reach out if needed?

The important thing is that you can reach out to someone, if alone there are helpful numbers here.

Urgent support is available:

  • NHS 111 advice line
  • CALM – 0800 58 58 58 (5pm – 12am, anonymous)
  • ABUSE hotline – 0121 552 6448

Should you need counselling or other support, this is also available:

  • Occupational Health: 0121 507 3306
  • The NHS direct counselling service:  0800 06 96 22 (7am – 11pm, 7 days a week)
  • Bereavement support: 0300 303 4434  (8am – 8pm)
  • Chaplaincy team: 0121 507 3552 or 0121 507 4055

For some there are alternatives such as behavioural therapies, holistic therapies, cognitive therapies and there are many complimentary therapies too as well as clinical support.

Recent research has shown planning your life can help support happiness and a stress free life. Consider this as very soon we can meet more and even hug. We can sometimes be stuck so here are some examples of goals to start a plan today.

Plan your wellbeing:

  • Read or listen – find yourself a new podcast or a book you enjoy
  • A nice fragrant bath – wash away the stresses of the day
  • Yoga – Stretch and unwind with mindful yoga with Chris
  • Talk to a friend – It had be shown that connecting with someone makes a difference
  • Plan a walk – What better time to start walking than during National Walking Month which started at the beginning of May! The wellbeing sanctuary are currently running a fantastic competition for the first 50 people to document their walking during the month of May. The deadline for entries is Sunday 16 May – click hereto find out more.
  • Be creative – paint or draw
  • Music – research that show with the right track, music can be relaxing and beneficial
  • Dance – check out Dr Nick Makwana’s latest #Dance4Wellbeing
  • Be a kindness fountain – do something nice for someone else the reward returns itself
  • Diet – plan a nice Meal
  • Mindfulness – find something calm to focus on, even just for a few minutes
  • Breath – slowing down your breathing can help
  • A gratitude journal – each day document two things you are grateful for today
  • Single session therapy at our wellbeing sanctuary – the sanctuary gives colleagues a chance to de-stress and relax in a confidential safe place. Do you need time to chill out downtime over a tea/coffee and a biscuit, a listening ear or a chance to talk about anything in confidence, meditation, mindfulness, relaxation hypnotherapy or music therapy? The 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. For further details please see daily sanctuary information sheet.

See the services available from Kaleidoscope by clicking here.

Essential upgrade to Trust reports system this Thursday from 7pm

 

Please be aware that an essential upgrade will be taking place on Thursday 13 May from 7pm to the supporting infrastructure and software for the SWBH Trust reports system. You may recall this activity has been rescheduled from a few weeks ago. This will help improve stability and performance for the reporting system and should take around 4 hours.

During the upgrade, SWBH Trust reports service will be unavailable for up to 2 hours from 7pm. The upgrade has been scheduled at this time to try to minimise impact and works will begin at 7pm and should be completed by 11pm.

Once the upgrade is completed, you may notice a few changes in the interface display which is shown below and you may need to change any pre-saved bookmarks/favourites

[caption id="attachment_297396" align="alignnone" width="800"] Current system[/caption] [caption id="attachment_297397" align="alignnone" width="800"] New system[/caption]

Please do call the 24 hour IT service desk if you have any queries accessing reporting after the upgrade on ext. 4050 or 0121 507 4050 for home workers.

Wellbeing Wednesday: Are you okay?

 

1 in 8 men have common mental health concerns, men are often less likely to talk to someone.

Consider ways to support your wellbeing here are four ways to make a start:

  • Connect with others, stay engaged, spend time with people who make you feel good
  • Take notice be in the present, explore your surroundings and find new places to visit
  • Learn something new
  • Stay Active being outside and being active can help lift our mood. Fancy getting fitter? try this link:

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/get-running-with-couch-to-5k/

Be sure to also check out a a podcast featuring Prince William talking to Peter Crouch around the topic of mental health in football by clicking here.

Wellbeing sanctuary:

Would you like to take 30-90 minutes to look after yourself? We very rarely take the time, so why not book now! The Wellbeing Sanctuary gives you the chance to de-stress and relax in a confidential safe place.

The sanctuary has a variety of offerings including:

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

Note: Social distancing measures are in place and PPE and sanitisation is provided on site.

To book please contact the wellbeing team on 0121 507 5886 to book your free session.

The sanctuary is only a 5 minute drive away from City Hospital and a 10 minute. drive away from Sandwell Hospital (Learning Works on Unett Street, Smethwick, B66 3SY) with free secured parking right outside.

For further details please see daily sanctuary information sheet.

 

Mental Health Awareness Week: Get walking and boost your health and wellbeing

 

As you may be aware, this week is mental health awareness week which aims to raise awareness of mental ill health and stigma which is unfortunately still attached to mental health.

Did you know that many experts recommend a brisk daily walk as an easy way to improve your mental health and wellbeing? A 30 minute walk three times a week could help to reduce the risk of a number of preventable health conditions including certain cancers, depression, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

National Walking Month

What better time to start walking than during National Walking Month which started at the beginning of May! The wellbeing sanctuary are currently running a fantastic competition for the first 50 people to document their walking during the month of May. The deadline for entries is Sunday 16 May – click here to find out more.

Fancy a Coffee with Occy?

Colleagues are encouraged to pop along for ‘Coffee with Occy’, when they can enjoy a hot drink, a sweet treat and a chat with occupational health. We will also be providing take home Iftar packs for our colleagues who are observing Ramadan:

  • Wednesday 12 May, 9.30am – 3.30pm: Postgraduate Centre (room 6), City Hospital
  • Thursday 13 May, 9.30am – 3.30pm: Education Centre (room 9 and 10), Sandwell Hospital

Shine the light – Commemoration Service

 

To mark National Nurses Week our chaplaincy team led by Rev. Mary Causer held a COVID memorial service yesterday entitled ‘Shine the Light’.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the service was limited to close family and colleagues. Click on the video below to watch a recording of the service.

Apologies to colleagues who were not able to view the livestream yesterday.

Star Awards 2021: Excellence in Education Prize

 

Do you know an individual or team who can demonstrate excellence in providing and supporting high quality education?

Nominate them as the Excellence in Education Prize 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 winners for the Excellence in Education Prize, Clair Millard (timecode: 19 minutes, 10 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.

Nature and your mental health webinar today at 2pm

 

Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust are holding a #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek webinar today (Tuesday 11 May) from 2pm where they will be talking all things nature and wellbeing, where to find support, mindfulness and tips for a healthier mind!

Click here for more information and to register.

It is Dying Matters Awareness Week

 

It’s Dying Matters Awareness Week – a chance for us to come together to open up the conversation around dying, death and bereavement. Death is a sensitive, often taboo, yet highly important topic – and after the last year, something that has affected more people than ever before.

Many people are reluctant to hold conversations with their loved ones about their preferences around end-of-life care, funeral and financial planning. This year’s Dying Matters event will be held on Thursday 13 May, 1pm – 4.30pm on Zoom and will discuss how families, employers and communities as a whole can remove the stigma from talking about death and dying and make a difference for the people we care about.

If you would like to register for this event please click here.

As part of Dying Matters Awareness Week we recently spoke to Dena Ross, Advanced Clinical Practitioner  about how death has affected her on a professional and personal level. You can check out this short film below.

Julie Thompson shares why she is proud to be a nurse

 

National Nurses Week is an annual celebration of all that nurses around the world do for their communities.

This week we’re continuing to recognise and highlight what it means to be a nurse at our Trust.

As part of National Nurses Week we will continue to shine a spotlight on some of our incredible colleagues as they share their stories on why they are proud to be in their roles.

Today we feature Julie Thompson, Group Director of Nursing for Medicine and Emergency Care who talks about her 42 year career as a nurse how she feels it is a privilege to be a nurse.

Be sure to also check out this short video featuring just a handful of our patients thanking our nurses for their hard work and dedication to SWB.

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