Monthly archives: November 2021

Learning from death bulletin – the many faces of stroke: Issue 11

Issue 11 of the learning from deaths bulletin is now available. This Issue covers a 41-year-old patient presenting at the Trust with vomiting and altered conscious level where a critical diagnosis of basilar artery occlusion (brainstem stroke) was missed.

These bulletins provide a valuable learning resource for colleagues to review and understand cases where opportunities for treatment have been missed, ensuring that we are able to learn and develop our care practices.

Click here to find out what lessons were learnt.

Celebrating Nursing Support Workers Day

Today is Nursing Support Workers’ Day and we are putting a spotlight on the vital contribution nursing support workers make to patient care across the UK.
Nursing support workers are vital members of our nursing teams working in wards, clinics and community settings with children and adults in all aspects of physical and mental health. They play a critical role in securing high-quality care and excellent outcomes for patients.

So today is about celebrating, acknowledging and thanking nursing support workers for everything they do.

Update to COVID-19 patient swabbing

Testing for COVID-19 is available through the Black Country Pathology Service (BCPS).

How a COVID-19 swab is collected and packaged is extremely important. Below is a quick ‘how to’ video that shows you the steps you need to take to safely collect and package a PCR swab for Coronavirus.

Please take the time to watch the video below and ensure you are familiar with the process.

A&E

• COVID-19 point of care testing has not changed. These should still be tested using the orange topped primestore media and tested in A&E, using the Cobas LIAT analyser.
• Results will automatically be sent back to Unity.
• Once testing is complete, please send any positive samples to the lab. Ensure each sample is double bagged into clear specimen bags and that the outer bag is labelled as ‘Positive LIAT Samples from A&E’.
• All negative samples can be discarded into clinical waste, after test has been reported.

Ward Areas

• All COVID-19 tests should now be requested using the ‘COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) PCR’ Unity order
• For urgent requests, once the swab is collected in the red topped viral transport media, place this into a clear specimen bag and seal. This should then be placed into the second larger clear zip locked specimen bag, which must then be placed into a purple urgent bag.
• Post this into the Red COVID MediBin labelled ‘Urgent’ outside Pathology
• Urgent samples are processed by Biochemistry and available between 8am and 8pm. If there are any other urgent requests outside of these times and have been agreed by consultant, then these should be processed as point of care test in A&E.
• Please do not call the laboratory for the result as these will be available on Unity once processed.
• Please note that specimens will only be processed if they are received in the laboratory within 2 hours of collecting the sample from the patient. It is therefore important that the time of collection is accurate. Any samples outside of this 2 hours window, will be processed as routine COVID tests and results will usually be available within 24 hours of receipt in the lab.
• All routine swabs are requested and collected in the same way as for urgent. The only difference being that they should be sent in a blue Microbiology bag and posted through the Green COVID drop off bin outside of Pathology.

Please do not post any other samples in to these collection boxes, other samples should be deposited through the hatch outside pathology.

Menopause champion training to launch across Black Country ICS in January

A new virtual training to launch a Menopause Champion role is set to take place in January 2022.

The ‘Menopause Champion’ online training is targeted towards those colleagues who are interested in developing the culture within their own organisation and making their working environment more menopause friendly to support others.

The training is open to all colleagues, regardless of gender or recognised characteristic, across the Black Country Integrated Care System.

Training is expected to take place on Tuesday January 11 via MS Teams and delivered by Diane Porterfield Bourne, Nurse Practitioner specialising in Menopause and HRT.

To express your interest please email rhi.thompson@nhs.net.

Heartbeat: Under 18? Why young people should consider getting vaccinated

Jayni Makwana, daughter of Consultant Paediatrician, Nick Makwana sharing her views on vaccination of young people

With the government opening doses of the Pfizer vaccine to those aged 12-15, getting the COVID vaccine has become more accessible to teenagers – but why is it so important for you to get vaccinated?

COVID-19 has made me really worried about how I am going to cope with my exams. I don’t feel prepared, and I am so stressed all the time. This is part of a real conversation I have had with my friend and, unfortunately, she is not alone. The pandemic has taken a huge toll on students’ lives- both academically and socially. It was reported that, in March 2021, 46 per cent of 977 parents of teenagers said that their child has shown signs of a new or worsening mental health condition since the start of the pandemic.

With so much isolation and loss of normality, it is understandable that young people have found themselves feeling lonelier and more troubled. Research shows that students have missed over a third of their education over the last year. In addition to this, individuals who have had to isolate will have missed out on even more. This is concerning because school life provides students with not only the chance to learn, but also to communicate with others, something vital to their mental wellbeing and character development.

But how does getting vaccinated come into this?

With the number of COVID cases rising in teenagers, it is important that more young people get vaccinated. Government guidelines now state that if someone has been vaccinated and has a negative lateral flow test, they are not required to isolate even if they have a ‘close contact’. Furthermore, the Pfizer vaccine is roughly 52 per cent effective after the first dose, significantly lowering a students’ chance of getting ill. This means that more time off school can be prevented. With the levels of mental health cases on the rise and CAMHS services overwhelmed, it is important that students are able to return to a regular routine that encourages both social and learning time.

As a young person, I would recommend getting the vaccine as a method of regaining the regularity that we have all missed since the start of the pandemic. Not only does it protect students at school, but it also protects their families too. Pupils are less likely to have to isolate because they are, overall, less likely to catch the disease and so less likely to pass it onto their relatives keeping everyone safe. Furthermore, with more people vaccinated, events such as concerts and festivals are safer and more accessible to everyone, especially those with health conditions who have been isolating for so long. This can significantly improve people’s lives and help them regain the sense of freedom and normality they have lacked, whilst combatting feelings of separation they might have had with the outside world.

If you are at all anxious or have any concerns about getting the vaccine, I would advise you to speak to a health professional to help you make an informed decision. As a 16 year old with a heart condition, I have had both of my jabs and the health professionals who looked after me made me feel very safe and comfortable, as well as providing me with all the necessary information that settled any anxieties I had. I would encourage any young person who is able to be vaccinated to take the opportunity to protect not only themselves, but also their peers and families from both COVID-19 and the negative mental health effects that exist alongside this pandemic-altered world.

University of Oxford course on systematic reviews and meta

This online course is open to anyone, but it is specifically designed for psychiatrists, psychologists, mental health professionals, mental health pharmacists and neuroscientists with an interest in evidence synthesis and evidence-based practice.

For further details please see University of Oxford course on systematic reviews and meta analyses information sheet.

Note: Due to COVID-19 restrictions, this course will be online.

To register online for the course, please click here.

For more information and booking please email OxPPL@psych.ox.ac.uk.

Black Country Acute Provider Collaboration (BCAPC) newsletter

We have recently launched the first edition of the Black Country Acute Provider Collaboration (BCAPC) newsletter.

The BCAPC is an agreement to work together to deliver effective, accessible, and sustainable acute care services for the Black Country.

The agreement is between:

• Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust
• The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust
• The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust
• Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust

This includes joint working in clinical and non-clinical areas such as workforce, finance, surgical and non-surgical specialities.

To check out the latest edition, please click here.

Diagnostic stewardship to combat antimicrobial resistance

The right antibiotic for the right patient, at the right time, with the right dose and the right route.

Appropriate use of laboratory testing to guide patient management, including treatment, to optimise clinical outcomes and limit the spread of antimicrobial resistance.

• The right agent, at the right dose, for the appropriate duration, while minimising toxicity and the emergence of resistance.
• Clinical interpretation of microbiology samples starts with a clearly labelled sample and form with the clinical indication and test request.
• The diagnosis of infection is as important as the treatment itself. Timely sampling is important to have meaningful good quality results.
• 30 per cent of patients remain on IV antibiotics after 72 hours who could safely switch to oral antibiotics. IV to oral switch (IVOS) leads to earlier discharge so frees up beds, saves nursing time, reduces plastic waste and causes less harm.
• AMR awareness is critical to drive behaviour change. Antimicrobials are so important, everyone must become aware it’s our responsibility to handle antimicrobials better.

All heathcare professionals have a key role in antimicrobial stewardship. Take the pledge and become an antibiotic guardian and champion at SWB.

Together we can all make a difference!

Be sure to check out this short video featuring Mel Roberts, Chief Nurse, pledging to raise awareness of antimicrobial resistance and promote best practice.

Antibiotics quiz: Be sure to have a go at our antibiotic quiz. The person who gets the most answers correct will be entered into a draw to win some Love2Shop vouchers. You can complete the quiz by clicking here.

Do you know where to find a hoverjack at Sandwell?

If you require a hoverjack for a patient at Sandwell they are now stored in the ED department at Sandwell. Colleagues are urged to remember to return the hoverjack to ED once they have finished using it.

For more information please email shila.patel@nhs.net.

Process for booking space for stands across the Trust

Colleagues should be reminded that we have an approval process for ALL exhibition and manned stands in public areas across the Trust. If you wish to book a space for a stand you must email audrey.hender@nhs.net to check that your requirements can be accommodated safely with respect to social distancing. Unfortunately we had a situation recently whereby a number of stands were crowded into a small space creating a potential hazard, by encouraging footfall to slow and create a crowd which was physically unable to adequately socially distance.

Whilst our safety rules remain in place, it is doubly important we ensure our public thoroughfares remain clear with only essential stands staffed, and that crowds are not encouraged to linger. It is unlikely that external suppliers or companies will be approved to come into our hospital sites for marketing purposes whilst COVID restrictions remain.