Skip to content Skip to main menu Skip to utility menu

Monthly archives: August 2021

National supply issue with blood tube products

 

The NHS has been notified of supply disruption in relation to blood tube products. In order to balance demand across the NHS, guidance has been issued to optimise blood testing and avoid disruptions to urgent clinical care.

Please review the guidance and take appropriate action.

Point of care haemoglobin devices to be used where possible
– Ensure staff use point of care devices have been appropriately quality assured for haemoglobin measurement, eg in critical care and theatres, instead of using EDTA tubes.

Minimum retest intervals
– Follow the guidelines related to RCPath minimum retest intervals to avoid over-testing
for items such as B12 and thyroid disease.

Encourage add-on testing to reduce the need for blood tube usage
– Encourage add-on testing by clinicians ordering tests.

Optimise inpatient and assessment unit sampling
– Only test for a clinical indication in patients and increase the testing interval for monitoring where it is clinically safe to do so.
– Keep testing levels under active review.
– Avoid routine group and screen testing unless patient likely to require transfusion.

Genomics testing
– Genomics is a high priority in the testing of unwell neonates, prenatal screening and cancer diagnosis. Stock should be used for these tests and should be prioritised accordingly to allow these tests to continue uninterrupted.

Reduce non-essential (non-clinically urgent) testing

For more information, read the guidance or talk to your clinical lead if any concerns or queries.

Making the most of Office 365 – Moving our files to the Cloud

 

As you may be aware, our Trust has chosen to upgrade our range of Office applications and move to Microsoft Office 365 as part of a major restructure of our working practices.

Whilst normally, an upgrade would simply involve a system being updated behind the scenes and an offering of new improvements becoming available, our latest upgrade will be one of the biggest changes to affect operational colleagues in their day to day work.

As part of our Office 365 upgrade, we will be drastically changing how we save and store our files in our departments, moving us away from our reliance on network share drives and over to a more managed storage system called Sharepoint.

This new way of working is focused on collaboration and cohesion, ensuring that colleagues are able to access the files they need when they need them and where they need them. With Office 365 applications such as Word, Powerpoint and Excel able to access and save directly to Sharepoint, and for colleagues being able to share and collaborate at will.

What does this mean for you when we migrate to Office 365:

  • Desktop applications for Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Outlook will move to the Cloud where they will be accessible to colleagues from any computer they login from.
  • Shared drives will become read only and all files will need to be migrated to Sharepoint as our longterm file storage solution.
  • Personal folders (h drive) will need to be migrated to Microsoft Onedrive

What do you need to do now:

  • Review all of your network shares and ensure that these are up to date, with files that you need to retain saved in their respective folders and files that can be disposed of deleted securely.
  • Begin reviewing the training on offer by logging in to our training portal. This highlights all of the key differences between our current applications and working practices and those of Office 365.

Essential Unity maintenance this evening (Thursday 12 August)  

 

Please be aware, essential Unity maintenance is scheduled this evening (Thursday 12 August) from 8pm until 3am (Friday 13 August) affecting Unity.

This work will be carried out by Cerner to support the IT infrastructure. This is required to introduce components needed for the theatres technical go-live which is scheduled next week.

Please be assured Unity will remain fully available; however, depending upon which server colleagues are connected to; you will be forcibly logged off Unity between 10pm to 10:10pm and 10:30pm to 10:40pm. You will be able to log straight back in and connect to a different server.

Desktop alerts will be issued from 8pm advising colleagues about the maintenance and upon completion. The activity will be closely monitored at all times by our support vendor and our IT support teams.

As always, should you have any further queries or experience any issues with Unity after the maintenance then please do contact the 24 hour IT Service Desk on ext. 4050 or 0121 507 4050 for home workers and the Duty Manager.

 

NHS England Race Equality Strategy – engagement and consultation

 

NHS England is developing a long term race equality strategy for the NHS.

The aim is to establish standards for advancing race equality, eliminating discrimination and fostering good relations in the NHS. The strategy is aligned with Model Employer (2019), the NHS Long Term Plan (2019) and the People Plan 20/21 among others.

It is expected to be published in October 2021.

As defined by the Equality Act 2010, race covers every single one of us. Race includes colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins. NHS staff, bank and agency workers, arm’s length bodies, staff side, professional organisations, ICS/STP are invited to contribute.

You can contribute using an online form https://forms.office.com/r/gF0BicjRHa (closing date 12 September). There will also be an engagement and listening event. Contact Olivia.King6@nhs.net to attend.

Creative Thoughtfulness in Care of Others

 

 

This is a new course available for all staff which is delivered online and is divided into six one hourly modules focusing on the small things that can make a world of difference across the hospital. It is suitable for everyone – medical staff, non-medical staff, patient and non-patient facing staff and could also be an opportunity for you to update your CPD.

The six modules do not have to be done in any particular order so you can do them to suit your own timetable. On completion of a simple reflective journal, at the end you will receive a certificate which can count towards your CPD, and if you don’t want to complete all six for CPD purposes, you can dip in and out of them as you wish.

Places can be booked via ESR and you will receive an email with session log on details prior to the course.

Please contact swbh.landd@nhs.net if you have any questions.

IMPORTANT – Essential IT maintenance affecting clinical audits reporting on Wednesday 11 August from 6pm

 

Please be aware that essential IT maintenance will be taking place on Wednesday 11 August from 6pm to the supporting infrastructure of the clinical systems reporting system.

During the maintenance, clinical Audits which is assessed via the clinical systems reporting webpage on Connect will be unavailable from 6:00pm for up to 1 hour.

The work is scheduled to begin at 6pm and should be completed by 8pm.

Should you have any queries on this then please contact the IT helpdesk on ext 4050 or 0121 507 4050 for home workers.

Safety with central lines

 

Central lines come as more than one type, and not everyone will be familiar with every type, and some may not have seen one at all.  It is therefore important to understand the dangers these lines can pose to patients.

The central lines learning alert highlights the importance of ensuring that you do have the right skills and competence to carry out tasks you are asked to undertake.

DON’T:

  • Use a central line if you are not familiar with them
  • Leave central lines unclamped and uncapped at the same time/ when not in use.

DO:

  • Contact outreach/CCS for guidance/ support regarding sampling from all types of central lines
  • Ensure responsibility is delegated appropriately
  • Ensure you are trained and competent to carry out central line related tasks
  • Make sure all colleagues are aware of this safety notice.

Remember it’s okay to ask for help, guidance or to be shown how to do something within your sphere of capability

Reduced shuttle bus service from 12pm this Thursday

 

There will be only one shuttle bus running between 12pm – 4pm on Thursday 12 August so please keep this in mind when planning your journeys across site when using the shuttle bus service. After 4pm, normal service will be resumed.

Please see reduced timetable below:

  • 12.30pm – City to Sandwell
  • 1pm – Sandwell to City
  • 1.30pm – City to Sandwell
  • 2pm – Sandwell to City
  • 2.30pm – City to Sandwell
  • 3pm – Sandwell to City
  • 3.30pm – City to Sandwell

Note: Colleagues must wear face masks on the shuttle. If you do not have a face covering they can be obtained from entrances on both sites or upon entry onto the shuttle.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

NSPCC learning podcast: Why domestic abuse is a child protection issue

 

Be sure to check out this NSPCC learning podcast which aims to help listeners improve their practice around domestic abuse when working with children and families. The podcast will also give an insight into the dynamics of domestic abuse, why it is a safeguarding and child protection issue. To find out more and to listen to this podcast please click here.

Support is available – don’t suffer in silence:

  • Call the 24-hour helpline for men and women on 0121 552 6448
  • National domestic violence helpline can be called on free phone 0808 2000 247
  • Mankind specialise in helping men escape domestic violence and can be contacted on 01823 334 244
  • If you can’t make a phone call, you can text or WhatsApp message 07384 466 181 (9am – 9pm weekdays)
  • You can speak to an advisor via web chat (10am – 2pm weekdays) via blackcountrywomensaid.co.uk. Black Country Women’s Aid support women, men and children
  • If you are based in Birmingham you can contact Birmingham and Solihull Women’s Aid on 0800 800 0028 or visit org/ or Birmingham’s Children’s Trust on 0121 303 1888 (emergency out of hours 0121 675 4806) or visit birminghamchildrenstrust.co.uk
  • More online support materials and information is available at sandwell.gov.uk/domesticabuse
  • If you are worried about your own behaviour towards others you can call the Respect Helpline on 0808 802 4040.

Note: In an emergency you should always call 999.

Midland Met Zip wire event – Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 March 2022

 

Your Trust Charity will be hosting a flagship fundraising event on 26 and 27 March 2022 where they will be offering you the opportunity to descend 220 metres on a zip line at Midland Met. With panoramic views over Birmingham, you will reach speeds of up to 35mph as you enjoy one of the most exhilarating adventures of your life – all whilst raising money for charity.

This is an ideal opportunity for thrill-seekers to enjoy a breathtaking, adrenaline-packed adventure. Every single penny raised will go towards making Midland Met #morethanahospital.

Be sure to check out this short video featuring Dr Nick Makwana, Group Director for Women and Child Health talking about why he will be taking part in the zip wire challenge.

So, what do you need to take part? Follow these simple steps:

Next steps:

← Older items Newer items →