Monthly archives: January 2022

West Midlands Integrated Clinical Academic Programmes Webinar: 16 February

Are you a nurse, midwife, allied health professional, pharmacist or healthcare scientist considering a clinical academic career?  Do you want to combine research and clinical practice? Are you a manager trying to support staff who want to combine research and clinical practice? Do you want to undertake research that makes a difference to patient care?

If yes to any of the above, the West Midlands Clinical Academic team will be hosting a webinar on Wednesday 16 February, 7pm – 8pm.

The West Midlands Internship, Pre-Doctoral Bridging and Post-Doctoral Programmes are funded by Health Education England (HEE) and support applications for HEE/National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Integrated Clinical Academic Programme (ICA) for non-medical healthcare professions and other competitive research training awards.

• All programmes include taught and directed study and require you to complete a range of research related work.
• Each programme involves 48 days funded release over 12 months.
• Release supported by a two part-payment grant paid to your employer.
• Linked with an experienced research-active supervisor(s) throughout.
• Gives access to the University of Birmingham learning resources.

The event will give an overview of the programmes. It will offer the opportunity to ask questions and have discussions with senior academics. You will also hear from past and present clinical academics, sharing their experience of the programmes.

For further details please see West Midlands Integrated Clinical Academic Programmes Webinar information sheet.

To confirm your place or if you have any specific enquiries please email clinicalacademics@uhb.nhs.uk.

Procurement process waiver requests

The Trust has seen an increasing volume of waiver requests, which seek to avoid formal competitive procurement processes, instead approaching only one supplier.  While there are justifiable reasons for completing a waiver, the current annual value of waivers submitted is close to £20m which is clearly too high. Where waivers are submitted it is difficult for the Trust to demonstrate compliance with Standing Financial Instructions (SFIs), which govern how the Trust spends money; in addition to ensuring best value is obtained.

Trust SFIs provide greater detail on the requirements for good corporate governance with regard to management of non-pay expenditure and are essential reading for all staff. Under SFIs the thresholds for competitive procurement requirements (as they relate to the completion of waiver forms) are as follows, meaning that waivers are necessary for requested purchases over £10k not following a competitive process.

A key exception to the above is where the Trust uses an approved national framework agreement, such as those provided by NHS Supply Chain, of which Procurement will give advice on. Procurement will also ensure that where it is felt that value can be added requests below the waiver threshold will still be subject to procurement review.

In an effort to simplify the process and ensure that where use of the process is justifiable is clear, the waiver request form has been re-designed and is provided with this communication. It will be necessary to select one of the below justifications when making a waiver request; along with a narrative supporting the request, confirmation that there is no interest in the requested company to declare and whether the request is retrospective for something that has already occurred. Where a retrospective waiver request is submitted, further action may be taken through the Audit Committee.

The new form that accompanies this communication should be completed electronically and provided to Procurement via email. Where the previous form is provided from today’s date it will be returned and requested to be completed on the new document.

Procurement are developing a plan to address waivers where there appear to be other providers offering alternative products / services and waiver numbers will continue to be monitored and flagged where inappropriately raised.

Single Source Waiver form January 2022

Supporting the physical health and wellbeing of our colleagues – Be Military Fit partnership

The NHS have partnered with Be Military Fit (BMF) to offer a new dedicated, physical health and wellbeing offer that has been specifically developed for our NHS colleagues. This offer is for colleagues of all abilities – from those who have never exercised before, through to those who already enjoy regular exercise. The online platform also features a learning and development programme that aims to help you look after and improve your wellbeing, particularly through winter.

To sign up and find out more, please click here.

Join the vaccination hub for tea and biscuits – the vaccination deadline is looming

Join the vaccination team at City (Sheldon Block) or Sandwell (Berridge Suite) on Monday 31 January between 2pm – 5pm at a drop-in session for colleagues who want to discuss any clinical concerns or issues regarding the COVID-19 vaccinations. Enjoy a hot or cold drink and biscuits while having a chat with one of our nurses. This is for all colleagues who are unvaccinated against COVID-19 and will be a relaxed, informal environment to ask questions regarding clinical concerns about the vaccinations.

Pfizer and Astra Zeneca vaccinations will be available during the drop-in.

Can’t make the drop-in session? You can still get your first, second or booster vaccination on site here:

The deadline for those in scope of the mandatory vaccination legislation is to have the first COVID-19 vaccination by Thursday 3 February. If you need to confirm your vaccination status or have questions about the mandatory vaccination requirements, just email swbh.hr-advice-for-covid-19@nhs.net.

Star of the Week: Carmen Nuttall

Our Star of the Week is Carmen Nuttall, Neonatal Community Outreach Team (NCOT) Team Leader.

Carmen has taken on a new role, completely different to that which she was doing before, developed a service and team, which comprised of procuring new equipment, writing guidelines and SOPs, learning new data capture techniques, interviewing colleagues, writing patient leaflets, scoping out other services, both established and relatively new, and much much more. The service, known as NCOT (Neonatal Community Outreach Team) recently launched and will be a fabulous addition to neonatal services, enabling our babies to be cared for in the community by their parents/carers through facilitating special care treatment at home, empowering them in the care of their child/children.

Do you know someone in your team that has gone above and beyond the call of duty? Why not put them forward for Star of the Week by clicking here.

Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 28 January

You will probably not be surprised that I want to write again about the mandatory vaccination legislation that is affecting our whole Trust and the rest of the NHS.

Firstly, thank you to those people who are attending the vaccine briefing sessions and find out more about vaccines and the impact of the legislation on your role. And thank you to everyone who has responded to my letter asking you to confirm your vaccination status where we have no record.

There has been lots of discussion over the past few weeks about who this new law applies to and who is exempt. I want to be very clear that it is my absolute wish that every employee, student, volunteer and contractor who supports our Trust is fully vaccinated. This is so that you are best protected but also so that well can provide our patients with the best chance of being protected. Remember, that many if not most of our patients are vulnerable and they deserve the very best care and protection that we can provide.  Whilst the current variant of COVID is proving to be less damaging, vaccination will protect us all against future, less forgiving variants.

Our organisation only works well because we are one team. Whether you work in a support service, in a clinical role or in management, we all contribute to improving people’s health outcomes and life chances. Let us please act as one team in getting ourselves protected, to protect each other.

There are very few exemptions within this legislation. There are a small number of roles within our Trust that have been defined as “out of scope” but these are roles where we can clearly demonstrate that there is no requirement to ever enter an area where there may be patient contact. The redeployment opportunities will be extremely limited and will need to be prioritised for those few medical exemptions that exist.

I appreciate that there are very real concerns and worries out there. I would urge you to take the opportunity to talk to your managers and make the most of the wealth of clinical expertise and knowledge that is within this Trust about the COVID-19 vaccines and how they work. Don’t rely on information that is not evidenced, or unfounded opinion. Please engage with the process to confirm your status directly with the workforce hub or through your line manager, so that we can support you in your decision-making and ensure that you are very clear on the implications.

Although probably not the best timing, we are in the last few days of the quarterly Pulse check survey being open for responses. I know we are asking a lot of you but, this national requirement is important. It enables us to hear regularly from staff about the organisation, your role and your team. The survey will take less than five minutes to complete. It was sent on email from survey@quality-health.co.uk and the subject is “The NHS Quarterly Pulse survey: Have your say” so please search for it now and fill it in. The survey closes on 31 January. Some staff groups received paper copies, so, again, please complete these. Your views are listened to and will inform our approach to the roll out of the strategic objective we have agreed on “Our People”.

It is great to see our colleagues Zaheer and Tracy nominated in the MyPortering Awards. Good luck to them and thank you for exemplary work within our portering team to provide a fantastic service to patients and staff. Congratulations too, to  Carmen Nuttall, who is this week’s very well deserving Star of the Week for her work in launching our Neonatal Community Outreach Team.

Thank you to everyone who is continuing to put together the plans, pathways and team requirements for the move to the new Midland Metropolitan University Hospital. The construction programme has continued, despite the latest COVID-19 surge, with pace and to a high quality standard, so that we can be confident that the building will be fit for purpose when we open. We are currently in the transformation and planning phase of our programme and I am pleased that we are getting ever closer to confirming with some precision the roles and pathways that will be in place when the hospital opens.

COVID-19 cases in our hospitals are beginning to fall but please be on your guard. Cases are still very high in some parts of our communities and the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions nationally is likely to lead to a further increase. Our workplace IPC guidelines remain in place and must be adhered to. Please be cautious when you are not at work too, to protect yourselves and those you come into contact with.

Richard

Your questions answered – Join the COVID-19 vaccination Q&A session on Monday, 8pm

The Department of Health and Social Care recently announced that individuals undertaking CQC regulated activities in England must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 no later than 1 April 2022 to protect patients. This means that unvaccinated individuals will need to have had their first dose by 3 February 2022, in order to have received their second dose by the 1 April 2022 deadline.

Get your vaccination questions answered at a vaccination Q&A session hosted by a panel of senior clinical leaders. This will also be a safe space for colleagues to have an opportunity to understand and ask questions about the potential impact of the new legislation, Vaccination as Condition of Deployment (VCOD) which has been enacted as of Thursday 6 January 2022. Session dates and times are below:

If you missed yesterday’s Q&A session, you can watch it back below:

Time is running out to get your vaccination with a deadline of Thursday 3 February to get your first vaccination. You can bring your concerns and questions to these sessions.

DID you know…? Only 28% of patients who died at SWB in September had an SCP completed

Late recognition of patients who are dying means missed opportunities for your patients to express and achieve their priorities at end of life. Collect your quick reference guide from the education centre or use eCoach in Unity to find out how.

At SWB we advocate using the Supportive Care Plan for patients likely to be in the last year of life, to guide and document open communications with patients about their future care and preferences. The care plan should be written in conjunction with the patient, after a sensitive and honest dialogue about your expectations for their health going forward, and can be used for people who are in the last months, weeks or days of life. It is vital that the information contained in the SCP is then shared with other teams looking after the patient, for example their GP or community palliative care team. A good place to document the discussion would be on the discharge summary, but if the patient is expected to die very quickly a telephone call to the patients GP is also very helpful.

In order to use the SCP at the right time for the right patients, we need to identify patients who could have a short prognosis. We advocate using the SPICT tool, which is also available on Unity, to identify patients who are deteriorating, and are likely increased care needs.

If we are able to have these conversations with patients in a timely manner we have the opportunity to shape their future care so that we meet their needs and wishes as they approach the final phase of their lives.

Alcohol Powerchart to go live in Unity from 1 February

The Alcohol Powerchart will be live in our electronic patient record, Unity from Tuesday 1 February. This will make prescribing and treatment plans easy to access and all in one place. This is for all patients who are alcohol dependent. By using the Alcohol Powerchart you will automatically refer patients to the alcohol care team, request hourly CIWA scoring, have quick access to the SWB alcohol withdrawal guidelines and prescriptions for the alcohol withdrawal medication ( Diazepam / Ethanol Vodka) and Pabrinex.

To access this, on Unity type ‘alcohol’ in the search bar on request/care plans and click on the Alcohol Powerchart.

Our alcohol care team will will also be operating a 7 day service from 8am – 6pm from Tuesday 1 February. If you wish to contact the alcohol care team, please call ext. 5074 or bleep 5134.

COVID-19 Bulletin: Thursday 27 January

Numbers not statistics: This week (last week)

Note: Percentages may decrease due to changes in the number of inpatients and in the number of staff members (starters and leavers). 

New: As national restrictions are lifted colleagues are urged to continue to exercise caution

As you will know COVID Plan B national measures came to an end today, meaning that mandatory mask-wearing on public transport and in shops ceased and other restrictions have been relaxed.

But for colleagues at the Trust, very little will change within our sites regarding our infection prevention and control measures as the virus remains very much present across our community and in our hospitals.

We recently enhanced our PPE requirements having risk assessed COVID-19 infection rates and outbreaks within our hospital ward areas.

One of the most important updates to this is that in all inpatient areas where there is direct patient contact (in both red and amber wards):

• Clinical and non-clinical staff who are having patient/bed space contact should wear as a minimum a silicone mask/FFP3 mask – these can be sessional use (colleagues must ensure they have been fit tested for an FFP3 mask before use).
• They must also wear single use gloves and aprons and visors may be necessary in some clinical circumstances as per risk assessment for each individual patient.

Please see Tuesday’s bulletin which details the full requirements for both staff and patients regarding PPE.

It’s also important that you ensure you are regularly testing using either the LAMP method (weekly) and/or Lateral Flow Devices (twice weekly).

Visiting restrictions will also still remain in place across our hospital sites. We are reviewing this regularly based on risk assessments considering community case rate, outbreaks and numbers of positive patients in hospitals.

And finally, when it comes to life outside of the workplace, we would urge you to use your common sense and knowledge as healthcare workers. Although face masks are no longer required many people are choosing to continue using them and some shops are requesting that they are worn. Please exercise caution when in crowded environments and remember to wash and sanitise your hands regularly.

Colleagues living and working within Rowley, Cradley Heath and Old Hill, and Blackheath should be aware that infection rates are extremely high. Residents are advised to follow guidance to keep themselves and others safe – especially when caring for vulnerable patients or meeting loved ones.

It’s important that we all continue to play our part in the fight against this virus so that we can protect our patients, colleagues and our loved ones.

2. New: NHS App – accessing your vaccination records

Did you know you could access your COVID-19 test results and vaccination records on the NHS app, or your mobile phone from wherever you are?

The NHS App is free to download and register and is available on the App Store or Google Play.

Colleagues who are not recorded as being fully vaccinated for COVID-19 will need to ensure they have downloaded and registered on to the NHS App to be able to access their COVID-19 passport. This passport is required to evidence your current vaccination status.

If you do not have access to a smartphone or you are struggling to download the app, you can access your records online using the Online COVID Pass Service at: https://covid-status.service.nhsx.nhs.uk/

You can also use the NHS App to get health advice, book appointments, order repeat prescriptions, view your GP health record and more. Please encourage and help any friends or relatives to also download and use the app, a short video on how to do this can be viewed here

For more information go to www.nhs.uk/nhsapp

3. New: Home working guidance

The national directive to work from home if you can has now been relaxed. The Trust is at present maintaining our current guidance. If you are able to work from home you can continue to do so. Teams can arrange rotas for onsite working as many teams are already doing.

Risk assessments must be completed for colleagues who are intending to return to Trust sites to ensure safe working and minimise risk of transmission of infection.

Once you are on site, you must follow all Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) guidance including social distancing, wearing a face mask in shared areas and also washing and sanitising your hands.

We will update guidance as part of our reviews on IPC across the Trust, that includes risk assessments on COVID-19 community rates, outbreaks and inpatient case rates.

4. Updated: There’s still time to join the vacci-Nation

The deadline is 3 February for first doses for staff who are in scope of the mandatory vaccination legislation.

Join the vaccination team at City (Sheldon Block) or Sandwell (Berridge Suite) on Monday 31 January between 2-5pm at a drop-in session for colleagues who want do discuss any clinical concerns or issues regarding the COVID-19 vaccinations. Enjoy a hot or cold drink and biscuits while having a chat with one of our nurses. This is for all colleagues who are unvaccinated against COVID-19 and will be a relaxed, informal environment to ask questions regarding clinical concerns about the vaccinations.

Pfizer and Astra Zeneca vaccinations will be available during the drop-in.

Can’t make the drop-in session? You can still get your first, second or booster vaccination on site here:

Don’t forget there is also a clinic taking place at the City Vaccination Hub tomorrow (Friday 28 January), 9am – 2pm specifically administering Astra Zeneca COVID-19 vaccinations. All attendees will be assessed prior to vaccination to confirm eligibility. To book your appointment, call the vaccination hub on ext. 4404.

The deadline for those in scope of the mandatory vaccination legislation is to have the first COVID-19 vaccination by Thursday 3 February. If you need to confirm your vaccination status or have questions about the mandatory vaccination requirements, just email swbh.hr-advice-for-covid-19@nhs.net.

5. Reminder: Revised guidance for self-isolation of NHS staff

The Trust’s self-isolation guidance has changed. In summary, all staff who test positive will be able to leave self-isolation and return to work, if they test negative via a lateral flow device (LFD) on days 5 and 6 after the date of their initial positive test, providing they are medically fit. The negative LFD tests on days 5 and 6 must be taken 24 hours apart.

Following this, and to mitigate any potential increased risk of transmission, all staff must then continue to test daily up to and including day 10 after their initial positive test and stop at day 10 if they are medically well and not had any further positive LFD tests.

The Trust guidance can be found in full here. For the protocol click here.

6. Reminder: Staff testing requirements

As you know, it is mandatory for all staff to undertake regular testing. Colleagues attending site more than once a week are expected to sign up to our LAMP testing programme and bring in a LAMP sample once a week. This is our preferred regular testing programme for all staff with no symptoms because of the accuracy of the test. To register for LAMP please call 0121 507 2664 (Monday- Friday, 8am-6pm) and select option 6 to register and book a kit collection slot.

The latest data by group is below:

You can find drop off points and more information by clicking here.

If you are unable to take part in the LAMP testing programme, then you must do twice weekly lateral flow device tests (LFDs). These are available to order online or to collect from a range of sites in the community. LFT results should be reported to the national website whatever the result.

Lateral flow testing is additionally to be used for people who are self-isolating as a result of testing positive for COVID-19, and for people who are a contact of a COVID-19 case.

We have access to a limited supply of LFT kits If colleagues are having difficulties accessing these and we would prioritise this supply to people who need LFTs as part of the process to end self-isolation or to continue working safely as a contact of a positive case.

LFT kits required in these circumstances are available from the IPC team or from the swabbing pod in the Little Lane car park, Sandwell Hospital.

If LFT kits are required as part of an outbreak, the ward or service manager should email sandwell.adminhub@nhs.net putting “LFT – outbreak requirement” in the subject field. Please include your ward or service and the number of staff who need to do daily LFTs. We will then respond to you to arrange collection.

7. Reminder: Get your jab – Allergic reactions are incredibly uncommon

Since the introduction of the Pfizer vaccination, there have been only two possible allergic reactions reported, but some of you with allergies may still be concerned about this.

Advice that individuals with a drug or food allergy should not have the Pfizer vaccine was withdrawn in January 2021 when it became clear that true allergic reactions to the vaccine, along with all other vaccines, are extremely rare.

Commonly, individuals can already have good antibodies from infection with the virus they are being immunised against, so the immune system quickly recognises the vaccine as a danger and may start to react a few hours after immunisation.  Symptoms usually involve a sore and/or itchy injection site, a mild fever, general aching and fatigue. Although unpleasant, these symptoms are not due to allergy and reflect a good response to the vaccine and settle within a day or so.

True allergic reactions are suspected when there are immediate symptoms of itching and swelling at the injections site, a rapidly occurring nettle rash (hives, urticaria) and possibly chest tightness and a drop in blood pressure. A drop in blood pressure alone suggests a faint.

Only individuals proven to be allergic to a chemical called polyethylene glycol (PEG) or who have a reaction like that described above, should have vaccination delayed whist advice is sought.

True allergic reactions very rarely occur to traces of egg protein or neomycin (an antibiotic not related to penicillin) in ‘flu vaccine.  Individuals  who have ended up in ITU due to a severe allergic reaction to egg should avoid the usual flu vaccine and have an egg-free version if available.

Advice on vaccines and patients for whom they may be contra-indicated is kept up-to-date on the “Green book” website. Click here to read more.

Any suspected side effect should be reported to the Yellow Card Scheme by going to https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/

If you are still unsure, join one of our vaccination Q&A sessions hosted by a panel of senior clinical leaders. This will also be a safe space for colleagues to have an opportunity to understand and ask questions about the potential impact of the new legislation, Vaccination as Condition of Deployment (VCOD) which has been enacted as of Thursday 6 January 2022. Session dates and times are below:

 8. Reminder: Mental health matters – Get advice and support at City Wellbeing Hub

The City Hospital wellbeing hub has now relocated to above Arches, 1st Floor, Corridor A (old physiotherapy corridor), Room B002/F/049.

Focusing on ensuring that colleagues have a good day every day, the new hubs aim to help improve mental health, relieve stress, build resilience and restore balance.

Recognising that colleagues need to be able to access services easily, the new hubs will provide much needed Health and Wellbeing for colleagues closer to their work base. Services in the new wellbeing hubs include:

• Confidential chat – an opportunity for colleagues to offload and talk about anything which is troubling them
• Meditation
• Relaxation POD (massage chair)
• Back, Hips, Leg Massager

The wellbeing hub is completely confidential. All services and treatments are free of charge for Trust colleagues and delivered by trained wellbeing coaches.

The wellbeing hubs will be a regular service weekly across all the sites listed below between 8am – 4pm:

• Mondays – Jayne Wright Therapy Room, Trinity House, Sandwell
• Wednesdays – Rowley Regis Hospital – Therapy room Archer, 1st floor, Rowley Regis Hospital
• Fridays – Wellbeing Hub, above Arches, 1st Floor, Corridor A (old physiotherapy corridor) Room B002/F/049 situated to the right of the corridor, City Hospital
• Monday – Friday – The Sanctuary, Unett Street, Smethwick B66 3SY

If you would like to register your interest and book in to one of the sessions contact the wellbeing team on 0121 507 5886 or 0121 507 3854. Alternatively, you can email Jatinder.sekhon@nhs.net