Monthly archives: August 2021

Complete the updated Day 5 newborn blood spot (NBBS) screening e-learning

Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) is a new condition that will be added to the Day 5 NBBS screening for all babies born on and after Wednesday 1 September.

Note: This will also affect the BCG (Bacillus Calmette–Guérin) administration pathway meaning all babies born on and after Wednesday 1 September will now be offered the BCG vaccination in an outpatient clinic around 28 days.

If you haven’t done so already, please ensure you have familiarised yourself and complete the e-learning module.

Would you like to attend the Sandwell Citizens Forum?

The Sandwell Citizens Forum is open to all with an interest in local health and care services including Trust colleagues. The forum provides an opportunity to get local updates, ask questions and take part in discussions around current developments and issues in Sandwell.

The next meetings will be held on the below dates:

• Thursday 16 September, 1pm – 3pm on Zoom
• Thursday 9 December, 1pm – 3pm on Zoom
• Thursday 17 March 2022, 1pm – 3pm (location to be confirmed).

To book your place please call 0121 612 1447 or email BCWB.engagement@nhs.net.

Note: Zoom links will be shared upon booking and topics on the agenda will be shared nearer to the time once speakers have been confirmed.

Kissing it Better creative thoughtfulness courses throughout August

Kissing it Better are inviting colleagues to attend their interactive creative thoughtfulness courses throughout the month of August.

The Microsoft Zoom hosted courses will allow attendees to enhance their continuing professional development through engaging and flexible-to-attend courses made up of six one-hour sessions you can attend in any order.

For further details including dates and times for each course, please see the Kissing it Better training course flyer.

If you wish to attend any of the courses, please email mail@kissingitbetter.co.uk for login details.

Heartbeat: Breaking the cycle – the impact of communication difficulties on crime

It’s no secret that violence and crime in the West Midlands has steadily increased in the last few years, from the aggression and attacks in the community to the victims and injuries we see in our wards. However, the hard work of a determined speech and language therapist is breaking the cycle of youth crime by highlighting one consistent issue – communication needs.

According to the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (2008), around 60 per cent of young offenders have some form of speech, language and communication need sufficient enough to affect them on a day-to-day basis. This can include listening and understanding what is said, remembering and recalling information, managing social situations and expressing emotions.

Whilst these difficulties are not just confined to young offenders, 7 per cent of children in the general population also have difficulties in these areas, the longer they go unsupported, the higher the negative repercussions. If left untreated, 33 per cent of these children are likely to develop mental illness and over 50 per cent may become involved in criminal activity.

Leading the charge in tackling this challenge is Advanced Speech and Language Therapist, Claire Westwood who alongside her clinical role within our Trust takes on additional duties within Sandwell Youth Offending Team and West Midlands Violence Reduction Unit. Sharing her thoughts she said: “The difficulties we’ve outlined are often mislabelled as purely ‘behavioural’ issues. The impact can be difficulty accessing education, higher risk of school exclusion, struggling to access services offered by mental health services and ultimately gaining employment.

“The West Midlands Violence Reduction Unit commissioned speech and language therapy input from Sandwell Children’s Therapies to investigate how services are working on this issue and to scope out the potential for progress. The aim of the project will be to highlight speech, language and communication need as being a core issue for those at risk of or already involved in youth violence and put blockers in place on that school-to-prison pipeline that means that young people’s needs are recognised and supported at the earliest stage possible to support diversion from negative life consequences.”

Memory matters

Have you got a patient on your ward or area that is over 75 years old? If yes are you asking them about their memory? NICE Guidelines recommends that people aged 75 and over should have an assessment that determines there cognitive function. As a Trust we want to ensure that all our patients are being supported and have the correct treatment pathways available to them.

Why is this important?

If there is a cognitive impairment detected, colleagues can carry out a memory screening test on Unity called the Abbreviated memory test score (AMTS). This is ten questions that are used for rapidly assessing elderly patients for the possibility of dementia.

Please see the dementia flowchart of how to ensure this crucial question is being asked and how to record this on Unity, ensuring the correct memory screening tool is being used.

Please ensure patients and visitors use main entrances when visiting our hospital sites

As COVID-19 restrictions in the community are lifted, it’s important to remember rules and restrictions remain in place and unchanged within our sites.  

Our current arrangements for infection prevention and control for colleagues, patients and visitors at the Trust will continue. Our PPE rules and visiting restrictions remain in place in line with national guidelines for the NHS.

We must remind colleagues to advise all patients and visitors to our hospital sites to use the main entrances only. Colleagues are not permitted to hold doors open or provide swipe/fob access to patients and visitors in any other entrances which are for Trust colleagues only.

New additions to our catering outlets

In our continued efforts to improve our catering outlets, we are now pleased to announce we’re now offering breakfast baguettes.

Be sure to also check out the recently added salad and cold drink meal deals as a well as a selection of ice creams (subject to availability).

Meridian Health and Social Care Entrepreneur Academy Bootcamps: 28 and 30 September

Do you have an idea that could transform the way you work? The West Midlands Academic Health Science Network are hosting Meridian Health and Social Care Entrepreneur Academy Bootcamps which are designed to give you the information and training you need to turn your idea into a reality. Over two half days, you’ll gain a high level understanding of entrepreneurship and have the opportunity to ask questions to experts in their field.

By attending this free event you will:

• Gain an understanding of entrepreneurship.
• Discover the considerations needed when developing an innovative idea.
• Meet members of the West Midlands Academic Health Science Network team and networks and discover the ways in which we can support you.

To register and for more information please click here.

Heartbeat: The meaning of Midland Met

As you approach Midland Met, you could think that the site is standing still and that nothing is going on inside. But as you enter the gates and make your way towards the main entrance, it quickly becomes apparent that building work is well underway and that Midland Met is taking shape right before your very eyes.

Midland Metropolitan University Hospital (MMUH) stands proudly between Sandwell and West Birmingham and, it will be our flagship hospital. It will be the largest hospital within our Trust, and it will bring together specialties from all areas of our organisation, providing a hub for emergency care.

The highly anticipated hospital means a lot of things to a lot of people. For some, it means the opportunity to work with new technology in modern purpose-built facilities. For others, it is about enhancing patient care when we move into MMUH. We caught up with one team as they enjoyed a site tour to find out what it means to them.

On a sunny Friday morning, members of the medicine and emergency care team set off on their site tour, with Dave Hollywood, one of our construction advisors leading the way. Heading into the underground car park, colleagues were impressed with the sheer scale of the project. Andy Wilkinson, Directorate General Manager, remarked: “It is great to see the reality of what I have seen so many times on paper. It is quite difficult to fathom the scale of the build, so seeing it in person today; I’m excited to get going with the work we need to do to move into Midland Met.” Amongst the specialities Andy works with is respiratory medicine who can see real advantage to the high side room ratio they have on their ward given the incidence of TB and other infections

Similarly, Dr Sandeep Gill, Emergency Medical Consultant, commented: “It is great to see the work coming along in person and to have the opportunity to walk around and see how it’s all progressing. It helps bring it to life, and what I’m excited about are the facilities our new hospital will offer.

“For both colleagues and patients, this will be a fantastic healthcare facility – it will benefit our local communities in terms of jobs and regeneration and colleagues will undoubtedly enjoy working in such an advanced hospital.”

The team were eager to look around their new department and see how it connects to other areas. As they moved around the site, it became apparent just how big our new hospital is. Dr Asif Naveed, ED Consultant Lead, remarked: “I joined the Trust three years ago for this, for Midland Met. So to see it today in person is impressive. Moving into this hospital with our team is what I am looking forward to. It will offer an enhanced level of patient care which is a positive for patients and our Trust.”

The ED is situated directly adjacent to radiology, enabling access for the ambulance service straight to test pathways for stroke, stable hip fractures and suspected heart attack patients straight into the cardiac catheter labs. This design will speed up the time to diagnostics and treatments improving clinical outcomes.

As the tour concluded, Dr Chetan Varma, Group Director of Medicine and Emergency Care, said: “It is positive to see the amount of work going on. It is a long-awaited project, and I can’t wait to see it completed. You can see it is a building that is fit for purpose, that’s suitable for our patients. It is very modern, spacious, and it will enable us to deliver enhanced patient pathways.”

Clinical tours are now available so that you can go up to Midland Met and see the areas you will be working in. Three tours take place every Friday for up to five people in each group. If you would like to arrange a visit, please email mmuhprojectoffice@nhs.net.

Essential Unity downtime this evening from 10.30pm until 6.30am tomorrow

Please be aware there will be an essential update in Unity taking place on the evening of today (Tuesday 17 August) throughout the night and in to the following morning. This will result in Unity being unavailable for 4 hours.

This activity will result in full Unity downtime for approximately 4 hours from 11.30pm on Tuesday 17 August until approximately 3.30am on Wednesday 18 August. All departments will be required to revert to business continuity plans and have 724 machines ready and utilise 724 boxes. 

Note: This will affect you if you are working the night shift from 7pm to 7.30am on Tuesday 17 August.  It may also affect you if you are working the day shift from 7am to 7.30pm on Wednesday 18 August.

The work is required to ensure the SurgiNet (Theatres and Anaesthesia) module is integrated within Unity in readiness for SurgiNet go live which is planned for later in September.

The work is scheduled to begin at 10.30pm on Tuesday 17 August and should be completed by 6.30am on Wednesday 18 August.

The activity will be closely monitored at all times both during and after the systems are back up by a designated operational and informatics management cell along with an additional CNP on site to support teams.  Desktop Alerts will be released from 9pm reminding colleagues of the planned downtime and need to revert to BCPs.

In the meantime please do call the 24 hour IT service desk if you have any further queries on ext. 4050 or 0121 507 4050 for home workers.