Monthly archives: July 2021

Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 2 July

It has been a privilege to be part of several outstanding events this week, demonstrating the breadth of commitment and focus that this Trust has to make a difference in areas that really matter.

Thanks to Dr Sarb Clare and the Women’s Clinician Network for putting on a great learning event on Thursday “Stand with me, not by me”, that encourages everyone to be an ally not a bystander where colleagues are facing discrimination and unconscious bias. People who attended and joined in virtually were treated to some excellent speakers and challenged to think about their own behaviours and how best to “upstand” to eliminate inequality.

I was also able to join Your Trust Charity’s kick-off event to mark the public element of our major fundraising appeal which aims to raise over £2.4m to provide enhancements to the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital development. In this week’s message I wanted to describe the importance of this campaign and encourage you all to play your part.

You will all know that the new hospital, being built in Smethwick, has its costs of construction secured by public finance. So, the charity fundraising appeal, “We Are Metropolitan”, is not to fund the building work or “bricks and mortar”. It is instead about providing additional benefit to patients, staff, carers, visitors and communities, which exceeds what NHS funding should cover. Charitable funding adds value to the value we add to patients as a healthcare organisation.  Those little extras, in the form of enhanced environment, equipment or person resourced services, are vital, particularly for a population like the one we serve.

The appeal seeks to ensure that MMUH secures its vision as being ‘more than a hospital’ because of the learning, heritage, research and cultural programmes attached to it. The funds will support:

• Providing leading clinical research
• A learning programme to support young people to play and develop interest in health care and future careers
• Enhanced clinical equipment
• Creating an arts, heritage and cultural centre at MMUH and in the community
• Outdoor play equipment with community gardens
• An opening festival programme and ongoing events

The campaign is already half way to its target with thanks to the Campaign Council, who are drawn from representatives of the regional business and voluntary community. Through their efforts, schools, companies and community-based organisations have already made significant pledges of support.

The remaining £1m is down to us and our local communities to find and there are a number of ways that you can contribute. You can sign up to the amazing zip wire challenge and generate sponsorship; you can take part in the Big Tea on Monday where you can donate to raise a cuppa with your colleagues on the NHS’s birthday; you can donate and get your name, or the name of your loved ones, displayed on glass within the building; or you can get creative and organise your own fundraising events. Whatever you choose to do, you will be making a difference to patients, colleagues and local people.

Let’s get behind the campaign and show just what we can achieve together. To find out more get in touch with Your Trust Charity team on trustcharity@nhs.net or call on 0121 507 5196. You can also read more on Connect.

A reminder for all teams that we remain absolutely committed to everyone having time and space to reflect together on your experiences over the last 18 months. Lots of you have taken up the opportunity to book some time off site where you can jointly learn, share and understand your team needs going forward. The Trust has set up a process for supporting and funding your activity so please make the most of this opportunity. You can access the form here or see the supporting information in the COVID-19 bulletin.

Congratulations to this week’s Star of the Week, Jenny Bordicott, Occupational Therapist in iCares who was nominated by a colleague for always going above and beyond for her patients, making them feel well cared for and with the right support in place. She was also praised for her kindness and support to a colleague following a recent bereavement. Thank you, Jenny.

Richard Beeken
Interim Chief Executive

Mouth Care Matters launches from Monday 5 July

Following a pilot on D11, D26, Priory 4 and Newton 4 to improve the oral health of patients, mouth care matters is set to roll out across the organisation from Monday 5 July.

Mouth care matters is a practice guide seeking to improve the oral health of inpatients. Poor oral health of a hospitalised patient can result in an increase in hospital acquired infections, namely hospital and ventilator acquired pneumonia, as well as poorer nutrition. This can result in an increase in the length of stay and care costs, alongside poorer quality of life and dignity for patients.

The pilot on our four wards reduced hospital acquired pneumonia by 40 per cent.

Group Director of Nursing, Medicine and Emergency Care, Julie Thompson explains more in this video.

As part of the Trust wide roll out on Monday, representatives from Stryker will be at City and Sandwell sites from Monday and Rowley from Thursday. They will be visiting all wards directly to provide colleagues with short training sessions on the Trust’s new mouth care protocol and products.

The ward visits will be happening daily through the week, both mid-morning and mid-afternoon to ensure staff have ample opportunity to receive the training.

Stryker are supplying new mouth care products that will be used with high acuity patients to keep mouths clean and help prevent risk of aspiration pneumonia. They are also providing various training and education activities to help raise awareness and understanding of the importance of mouth care for all of our patients.

For further details please call 07896 649 364 or email either julie.thompson40@nhs.net or martin.clinton@stryker.com.

Staff survey feedback – your chance to have your say

In October 2020, every colleague in our organisation was given the opportunity to take part in the national NHS Staff Survey; over 38 per cent of colleagues completed their survey with 2,786 anonymous responses flooding in.

Over the last three months, teams have been looking at the survey results and putting forward ideas to make improvements in your area.

Over the next two weeks the groups will be holding a series of events that will see the leadership teams outline the main findings from the survey results and how they will work with you to ensure we make our organisation a great place to work.

You can access an overview of the results by clicking here

The schedule of listening events is below so that you can attend your own Group sessions. You are also free to join any of the other events.

NHS Staff Survey feedback events

Thank You Day this Sunday: Thank you to all of our volunteers

Sunday 4 July is national Thank You Day, which encourages everyone to give thanks to those who have helped us over the last year.

Sue Edwards, Bereavement Lead Nurse would like to thank her team of volunteers who have been supporting bereaved families from the Trust.

“Over the last year the pandemic has affected everyone in so many ways, not least the bereaved families of those patients who have sadly passed away. This has been devastating for the relatives of those patients, some who had the added burden of dealing with multiple losses, even losing both parents to the virus, and this has been compounded by the lack of social contact as a result of the lockdowns over the last year.

“As a Trust, we felt we still had a responsibility to provide aftercare for the bereaved relatives, so we developed a bereavement service which is made up of seven of our incredible volunteers. Our volunteers started off by checking in and carrying out wellbeing calls to those bereaved families who told us they would like our support. The families who have lost loved ones throughout the pandemic have felt so desperately isolated and our volunteers have made such a big difference to them ensuring they do not feel so alone in their grief. They have lent a sympathetic ear and for some people have been their only point of contact throughout the pandemic. It’s so heart-warming to see how our volunteers have built these incredible connections with the families and are able to make them feel less alone. They have also been able to signpost them to other areas where they need more support, such as charitable organisations to help them smile through some difficult times and think about the future.

“So I want to say a huge heartfelt thank you to our incredible volunteers, who give so much of themselves and who have been on a journey with us to make such a difference to those families.”

Opportunity to complete a funded 15 credit M-level research methods module

Health Education England Midlands are delighted to offer 25 allied health professionals the opportunity to complete a funded 15 credit M-level research methods module in October through the University of Lincoln

If you would like to apply for this opportunity, please complete and submit the below expression of interest form and return to criley@lincoln.ac.uk by Friday 16 July, 5pm.

UoL 15 Credit Research Methods Expression of Interest Form

You are required to include a signature from your line manager to confirm that you have support to complete this module so please do plan this into your timeline for submission. Submissions received after the deadline will not be considered. This means anyone interested would need to discuss with their line manager and that any expressions of interest would be subject to the Trust’s usual study leave process and approvals.

For further information about this module, please see Research Methods Flyer.

Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their submission by Friday 20 August.

Stay safe – high cases of COVID-19 in Sandwell hotspots

People living and working in the Cradley Heath and Old Hill, Blackheath and St Paul’s areas of    Sandwell are being warned to take extra care due to very high rates of COVID-19.

Infection rates in the three wards are around double the average rate for the whole of Sandwell.

More than 100 residents have tested positive for Covid-19 in these three hotspots in the past week:

• The COVID-19 infection rate in Blackheath is 269 cases per 100,000 (33 people infected in past week).
• The infection rate in Cradley Heath and Old Hill is 250 per 100,000 (35 people infected in past week).
• The rate in the St Paul’s area of Smethwick is 248 per 100,000 (39 people infected in past week).
• The average infection rate for the whole of Sandwell is 134 per 100,000 – around half that of these three wards.

COVID-19 infections in the three hotspot wards are mainly among people aged 65 and under, with many cases being among households where somebody else had already tested positive. Many infections are among school age children.

Sandwell’s Director of Public Health has called on people to take extra care, use rapid tests at home twice a week and to be particularly vigilant to infections among young people aged 11 to 16 – where the infection rates are highest.

Dr Lisa McNally said: “The case rates in Cradley Heath and Old Hill, Blackheath and St Paul’s are causing us great concern. They are much, much higher than the rest of Sandwell, and to see more than 100 individuals test positive in the past week in just three wards is very concerning.

“I’m asking people living and working in these areas to take extra care to avoid becoming infected and passing COVID-19 on to others. In particular, if anyone has COVID-19 symptoms, stay home and book a test. If we don’t self-isolate when we have symptoms we can put other people’s lives at risk. And, most importantly, if you’re not already vaccinated then please book your appointments now.

“This advice goes for everyone in Sandwell of course – however, with more cases circulating in those three particular wards, the risk of becoming infected is much higher. It’s vital that everyone continues to do all they can to keep themselves safe and stop the spread of the virus – it’s still deadly and it’s still out there.”

How to get your vaccination:

• Vaccinations are now available to everyone over the age of 18. For details, and to book your first or second vaccination go to nhs.uk/covidvaccination
• Pop-up clinics are operating in Sandwell – for details follow us on Facebook and Twitter and check sandwell.gov.uk/news for updates.
• Second jabs for people aged 40+ who had their first dose eight weeks or longer ago are also available with no appointment at Tipton Sports Academy (8am-6pm) and the Saddlers Centre in Walsall (8am-7pm).

Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms must self-isolate – along with their whole household – and book a test at www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test or by calling 119.

Everyone without symptoms is encouraged to use a rapid test twice a week to make sure they do not have the virus without realising. For details on how to get rapid tests go to www.sandwell.gov.uk/testsandwell

Let’s get social – follow @MidlandMetUH on Twitter

Want to find out about all things Midland Met? Well, now is your chance!

We’ve launched our official @MidlandMetUH Twitter account. Follow us to find out the latest news about our flagship hospital, Midland Met and help to spread the word about our inspiring new hospital far and wide.

If you look after a team Twitter account, please give us a follow too. We would love to hear all the exciting updates from your areas.

Use #morethanahospital to join the conversation.

Essential maintenance affecting the HIE Portal: 8 July, 8pm

Please be aware essential IT maintenance will be taking place on Thursday 8 July to the HIE’s supporting infrastructure.

This will result in the HIE Portal that displays Unity and GP information being unavailable for up to 3 hours from 8pm – 11pm on Thursday 8 July. However, please be assured GPs have alternate means to view this information via the ICE system. Trust clinicians only use HIE for supplementary GP information on occasions.

Please be assured the activity will be closely monitored at all times.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.