Monthly archives: December 2021

‘Get Britain Boosted’ – Prime Minister calls on the support of all NHS staff

As we all begin to settle in to the uncomfortable reality that we face an onslaught of another COVID-19 variant, the Prime Minister has released an open letter to all NHS colleagues thanking them for their unwavering commitment and hard work but asking for their help and support to get Britain boosted.

In his letter, Prime Minister Boris Johnson writes, “As we take on this new Omicron variant, evidence suggest that two vaccine jabs do not provide enough protection. I therefore need to call on your help and assistance to deliver the biggest, fastest vaccination drive this country has ever seen. The aim is simple. Between now and the end of this year, we need to offer jabs to everyone eligible.”

The science is clear, the Omicron variant is spreading fast than any of the previous variants, but we know we have an effective vaccination programme that can significantly limit the impact of the virus, but it is wholly dependent on people getting both doses of the initial vaccination and the follow up booster vaccination.

We know that colleagues stepped forward and received their first two doses, when the vaccines were first released, but to stand a fighting chance against the Omicron variant, you must ensure you have received your booster vaccination as soon as possible. Remember, it can take up to two weeks for your body to respond fully to a vaccination and build its immunity.

When and where to get your jabs:

• City: The City vaccination hub in Sheldon Block is open seven days a week between 8am – 6pm for walk-ins.
• Sandwell: The next pop up clinic will take place on 16 December at the Berridge Suite between 9am – 4pm.

Note: You can also book a vaccine on the national booking website.

Get moving for free: Free classes for people living with diabetes

From the start of next year, free classes are available across the region to anyone who wants to get moving and do gentle activity. The classes are aimed at people living with diabetes though all are welcome.

For further details, please see below links for classes in your area.

• Walsall Jamia Masjid Ghausia and Community Centre
• Cradley Heath Community Centre
• Brasshouse Community Centre
• Bangladeshi Islamic Centre

Heartbeat: Maternity lead the way in delivering safe care to hard-to-reach community

The maternity department has facilitated one of the country’s first third sector pregnancy referral centres which will improve the way women access care.

In a move which is aimed at hard-to-reach Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups, it will mean earlier referrals ensuring a healthier start to pregnancy.

The European Welfare Association (EWA), a community interest organisation focused on supporting migrants, became the first to join the scheme, which is being led by Afrah Muflihi, the recently-appointed equality, diversity and inclusion lead midwife.

Other referral centres to join will be the Yemeni Community Association in Sandwell, Brushstrokes Refugee Centre, Murray Hall Trust, Sandwell and Walsall Citizens Advice Bureau, and Sandwell Consortium.

Representatives from the centres are given training by our midwives so they are able to offer health and wellbeing advice to pregnant women. The patients will also complete a referral form which is given to Trust midwives.

Afrah explained: “We have identified that women from Black and Asian backgrounds, those with limited English speaking abilities and mothers who are not born in the UK are more likely to access maternity care late.

“It is for this reason that we are reaching out to our community partners to help support these women in particular to have equitable access to maternity services.

“Third Sector Pregnancy Referral Centres will be provided with training, resources and ongoing support from the lead midwives to help expectant women they may come across, to directly refer to the local community midwifery team and impart simple health messages to ensure a healthy start to the pregnancy.”

Afrah added: “Good Health in pregnancy significantly influences a baby’s development in the womb which, in turn, influences long-term health and educational outcomes.

“By giving every child the best start in life, we will help them fulfil their health, wellbeing and socioeconomic potential.

“Having early access to midwifery care and pregnancy related health information are one of the key drivers to improving the health of local mothers and their babies.

“Nice Guidelines (August 2021) recommend that antenatal care should be started in a variety of straightforward ways depending on women’s needs and circumstances and at the point of antenatal care referral.”

IT Incident update: 4

Dear colleagues,

Work on the restoration of our IT systems has continued over the weekend and the Blood Transfusion IT system has now been successfully restored, meaning in this area a return to business as usual.

However there is still much work to be done, and you will be contacted through your groups if there is specific action you need to take as we progress through our restoration and recovery phases. Thank you for working through business continuity arrangements as this work continueas.

Our priority is to recover and restore the systems that have significant risk to patient management and care as agreed through our tactical forums.

Our incident management structure remains in place and all Clinical Groups and impacted corporate services are represented on the Tactical meetings. Please feed through any concerns to your tactical representative.

Other services that are back online include:

• SW-HOME1A – Affected users who had icons and documents on their desktop missing should now find these have returned.
• Telecare – Sexual health system
• RDP-IT-SUPPORT – Virtual server for IT support
• Unipoc – point of care system
• Immunlink
• Chemocare
• Medcon \ Trustreports
• ICE
• McKesson
• Powergate
• Auditbase

We appreciate your continued patience and remind colleagues to be kind and support each other  during this period of heightened escalation. Please ensure you continue to follow your Business Continuity Plans and review the patient activity that can be safely carried out.

Our incident management structure remains in place and all Clinical Groups and impacted corporate services are represented on the Tactical meetings. Please feed through any concerns to your tactical representative.

 Clinical impact:

• Point of Care: Point of Care Abbott glucose/ketone meters may not show the patient demographics after the RXK number is entered. Patient not found may be displayed (see image below), if this occurs please check that you have entered the correct RXK number and then press 2- continue.

At present, results performed on these meters are not available within Unity but will be available on the meter. Please continue to use the meters as normal.

Current System Status

Essential maintenance to door access system from Monday 13 December for up to 2 weeks

Please be aware from today (Monday 13 December) for approximately 2 weeks we will be undertaking essential maintenance on the door access system controlling fob and swipe access to wards, departments and buildings at Sandwell, City, Rowley and Leasowes.

During this time, colleagues who have been issued with swipe access cards and fobs since May 2021 may find that their fobs/swipe are deactivated and do not function.

If colleagues find their fob/swipe access is affected, then please inform the security or admin teams on site at City or Sandwell who will endeavour to get this reenabled for you. If colleagues are based at another site or are unable to physically get to the security or admin teams at City and Sandwell then please call the team by ext. 4133 (City) or ext. 3163 (Sandwell).

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Cancer services Christmas sale in the Berridge room: 15 December

On Wednesday 15 December, our cancer services team will be hosting a Christmas stall offering a variety of festive goods including painted candles, jumpers, shirts, dresses jewellery, decorations plus much more  from 10am – 2pm in Berridge room at Sandwell. In addition, there will also be a samosa sale at lunchtime.

For further information including ordering your personalised Christmas candle and for details on prices, please email jennifer.donovan@nhs.net or call ext. 2776.

Heartbeat: Hello my name is… Daren Fradgley

This month we welcome a new member of the executive team. Daren Fradgley has recently joined our SWB family as interim executive director of integration.

Daren has worked in the NHS for 28 years and joins us from Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust where in the last two years he was deputy chief executive and then acting chief executive.

We caught up with him to find out more.

“I spent 20 years of my career in the ambulance service where I trained as a paramedic and I still practice today with a clinical speciality in admission avoidance,” he said. “During my time at West Midlands Ambulance Service I worked on the front line in South, Central and West Birmingham before transferring to the Black Country.

“I then moved into a leadership role starting at station level and then director level of which seven years was as an assistant chief officer. My time as a director with the ambulance service saw me work in various areas of the service including operations, data and performance management and the emergency operations centres before finishing in NHS 111, where I led the migration from NHS Direct.

“In 2014 I moved to Walsall Healthcare as executive director of strategy with a brief to build the Trust’s integration offer. This developed into a place based care model called Walsall Together which quickly developed as a virtual organisation in Walsall. Walsall Together is responsible for the smooth running of all out of hospital health services, elements of primary care, adult social care, mental health, housing and the voluntary sector under a single clinical and practitioner management team. This removed barriers between organisations and delivered services closer to people’s homes.”

We asked Daren what attracted him to SWB.

“I am passionate about integrating services and providing the very best care and support as close to patients’ homes as possible,” he said. “Having spent my entire clinical career in a pre and post hospital setting, I strongly believe that good quality place based care linked with partners such as social care, housing and the third sector can deliver better and timelier outcomes for our patients whilst protecting acute and bed based services for those in greatest need.

“Having achieved this in Walsall and other places with the ambulance service I was excited to get the opportunity to come SWB to develop our place based model for the future. A model that is even more important now given the opening of Midland Met which will require thriving clinical and community pathways if it is going to be successful.”

Daren will be accountable for bringing partners together to deliver good quality place based care.

He added: “The Trust has already committed to be the host for this endeavour and therefore we are collectively responsible for the coordination and creating the success conditions for the partners to work on our place based partnership. The offer for the citizens we serve should be the same in West Birmingham as it is in Sandwell so we will need to work hard to stay aligned with other partners in Birmingham. Looking forward, the creation of national policy relating to place based partnerships is moving closer to approval and will see providers take on a wider coordination role with commissioners coordinating population health budgets and addressing the wider determinants of health.”

Daren most looks forward to meeting new people and creating space to hear colleagues’ ideas and bringing them to life. He welcomes listening to your ideas to deliver better quality services closer to home. Drop him a line at daren.fradgley@nhs.net or a direct message on Microsoft Teams. He would also love to visit your service and discuss your ideas and ambitions.

So what does Daren do in his spare time?

“What spare time?” he says. “I was born in Walsall and now live in Wombourne with my partner Helen and have three children aged 24, and 12 year old twins. Our days off are busier than work days – I hate sitting around so we are always exploring somewhere new. I hold a private pilot’s licence and I am passionate about anything aviation. I very nearly became a pilot with British Airways but the NHS grabbed me first, but that’s another story!”

Welcome and good luck in your new role Daren.

Heartbeat: Wave goodbye to… Rose Butler

After delivering 56 years of outstanding care for patients in Sandwell, Rose Butler will be retiring from SWB.

Known to most across the Trust as Sister Rose, she started her nursing career in 1965 when she joined the state enrolled nursing programme at West Bromwich and District General Hospital which she successfully qualified from 18 months later.

“I have witnessed many changes over my 50 plus year career such as the merging of West Bromwich District Hospital with the Hallam Hospital and Heath Lane Hospital, which then later became what know now as Sandwell Hospital as well an evolution of the healthcare system from traditional, manual delivery of care up to the progression of the new technology like our electronic patient record, Unity,” said Rose.

Throughout her five decade career Rose has reached many milestones such as having one of her youngest patients, a baby girl named after her and being recipient of an MBE in 2008.

When asked about her MBE Rose said: “l remember it like it was only yesterday! I was travelling to Buckingham Palace and I had butterflies in my stomach. l couldn’t eat anything on the day because I was so nervous even though it wasn’t the first time I had been to the palace and I’d been invited to a garden party previously and met the Queen and Prince Philip which was equally as nerve-wracking but also amazing. When I received my MBE from Prince Charles, he asked me how long I had been nursing, and whether I enjoyed the job. It was a very special experience.”

Sister Rose has left a lasting impression on many of her colleagues including Maria Yague, Staff Nurse who looks at Rose like a mentor.

She said: “Sister Rose is always there to lend you a hand, always listens, is always compassionate and she is non-judgemental. This isn’t just for the nurses but also all radiographers, radiologists, IDAs, HCAs, porters and admin staff.”

Carrie Goodship, superintendent radiographer and reporting radiographer echoes these thoughts and said: “In the team and across the department, I think we can all agree when I say that we are all very privileged to have worked with a very truly remarkable and successful nurse such as Rose. She is a true daughter of Sandwell Hospital.”

As part of her retirement, Rose plans to spend more time with her family and friends.

Everyone at SWB would like to Thank Rose for her service – good luck in the future Sister Rose!

Heartbeat: Wayne doing well after suffering cardiac arrest at GP surgery

It seemed like just another day for Wayne Taylor, who was attending his GP practice for an appointment to discuss a painful hip ailment. As he was waiting to be seen he started to feel unwell with a pain across his chest and back, and feeling hot he stepped outside to get some fresh air. Whilst there, his symptoms escalated and he rapidly felt very unwell.

However luckily for him, sharp eyed general practice staff from Great Bridge Partnership for Health recognised what was happening and called an ambulance. Wayne had a cardiac arrest and was resuscitated before being brought into City Hospital.

Dr Chetan Varma, Consultant Interventional Cardiologist explained: “Wayne is really very lucky that he was at his GP practice when this event happened to him. Our colleagues in primary care acted quickly to get emergency help to him so we could open up his two blocked blood vessels. Once that was done his blood pressure improved, and he was pain free and able to chat normally

“It is a great example of how primary and secondary care can work together for the benefit of patients. I rang my colleagues at the practice to tell them what a great job they had done to identify and get him shocked as he went into VF.” (Ventricular fibrillation (VF) is a condition in which your heart beats in an abnormal rhythm. It is an emergency condition that may be brought on by a heart attack.)

Department of Health and Social Care blog: Keeping each other safe in the NHS this winter

The Department for Health and Social Care blog is aimed at NHS colleagues, updating them on departmental policy, sharing best practice and celebrating this work.

Be sure to check out the latest blog which talks about how we can keep each other safe during the winter by clicking here.