Monthly archives: January 2022

Equipment amnesty – hover jack patient lifting mattress systems

We are seeking to identify any hover jack equipment that is not a complete set or not working. We are asking all colleagues to search in their wards and areas as we have spare pumps that will enable a competed hover jack to be put back into use in your departments.

If you have equipment that is not a complete set which you wish to be collected, please email Lesley.mcdonagh@nhs.net or call ext. 3278 so this can be arranged.

Medicines management training – do you need to complete your eLearning?

The medicines management training course needs to be completed by all clinical colleagues who need to complete their mandatory medicines management training.

Note: This is a Trust approved course that has to be completed to ensure compliance with mandatory training.

For instructions on how to enrol and complete this training, please see medicines management training eLearning information sheet.

Have your say to make our organisation a great place to work

In July 2021, every colleague in our organisation was given the opportunity to take part in the Quarterly Pulse survey; just over 21 per cent of colleagues completed their survey with 1552 anonymous responses flooding in. During October and November, every colleague had an additional opportunity to share their views in the national NHS staff survey.

Over the last few months, teams have been looking at the Pulse survey results and putting forward ideas to make improvements in your area.

This month the clinical groups will be holding a series of events that will see the leadership teams outline the main findings from the national staff survey and the Pulse survey results. These sessions are to listen to your feedback and ask you how we can make changes to ensure we make our organisation a great place to work.

You can access an overview of the results by clicking here.

The schedule of listening events is below so that you can attend your own Clinical Group sessions. You are also free to join any of the other events.

Survey feedback events:

Cold weather alert: Yellow warning – expect hail and snow

We are expecting icy and cold conditions from today (Thursday 6 January) throughout the weekend until Monday 10 January with frequent sleet, hail and snow showers as well as overnight frost.

This weather could increase the health risks to vulnerable patients and disrupt the delivery of services. Please refer to the Trust’s Severe weather plan.

All areas should have business continuity plans agreed with their staff for cold weather, ice and snow. These should include:

• Working with colleagues regarding their ability to report for work if transport systems are affected
• Agreeing working arrangements for severe weather in advance, including potentially the need for staff to stay overnight

Colleagues are expected to make every reasonable effort to attend work (including using public transport when they wouldn’t normally) providing it is safe to do so.

• If not able to reach their normal base, to attend an alternative base if that is easier to reach.
• To work from home (if applicable and agreed with their manager)
• Colleagues unable to attend work or work from home, to notify their managers ASAP and required to either take the day as annual leave or time in lieu (to be agreed locally).
• Colleagues who are able to walk in but are not rostered to work may be asked to support their work area.  This is not mandatory and will be based on mutual agreement and rescheduling of work duties

Please ensure that all staff contact details are up to date and that you have a plan in place so that you are aware of any issues at departmental level.

The PHE cold weather plan can be accessed by clicking here. 

Sad passing of Sarbjit Mann – funeral details

It is with great sadness that one of our much loved colleagues Sarbjit Mann (known to many of her friends and colleagues as ‘Sabi’), passed away on Friday 10 December.

Sabi originally trained as an enrolled nurse in Gravesham & Dartford in 1979, before moving to the Midlands in 1987. She did further training to convert to her RGN and started at SWBH in 2000 in City ED.

She sadly lost her husband whilst her children were young, but continued to work and bring up her three children single handed, who are all now married with children of their own, who Sabi doted on.

Sabi has remained part of the ED family since then, apart from a couple of years at Warwick ED as a sister, before coming back to us in 2017. She was a popular member of staff, loved by all those that knew her, appreciated for her warm smile, her can-do attitude and pragmatic approach to life.  She had a tremendous work ethic and would take on anything that ED was prepared to throw at her. She will be missed terribly by all those that knew and worked with her.

Her loss comes at a sad time, as she was clearly looking forward to her planned retirement and having more freedom to spend with friends and family.

Funeral details: Sabi’s funeral procession will be coming past City Hospital and into the front canopy by A&E between 2:50pm – 3pm tomorrow (Thursday 6 January). Colleagues are reminded to stay socially distanced whilst paying their respects and wear face coverings. Colleagues who wish to attend the digital service can do so by clicking here at 4pm and then enter the login details listed below:

• Username: hamo8508
• Password: 033091

Heartbeat: Innovation drives Sandwell team to prestigious Macmillan award

There are many talented people working within our Trust, and awards ceremonies and events throughout the year further highlight the fantastic individuals within our organisation. The Macmillan Professionals Excellence Awards provided another success story for the Trust.

“The Macmillan Professionals Excellence Awards are an opportunity to recognise the outstanding contribution Macmillan Professionals make to cancer services.” A Macmillan representative explained to Heartbeat. “The awards also bring our unique spirit to life by showcasing not just what Macmillan professionals do, but how they do it – with heart, with strength, with ambition.”

Macmillan professionals and teams have been at the forefront of the Coronavirus response, and have moved mountains to support colleagues and people living with cancer when they needed it most.

Sandwell Hospital was represented thanks to the Macmillan Upper GI/HPB CNS team who were nominated in the innovation category. This category is for nominees and teams who have introduced a new approach to service or product development and delivery, and the team’s approach was such that not only did it make a massive difference to patients it also secured them victory and the award.

The Macmillan Upper GI/HPB CNS team identified that not all of their patients received a diagnosis within this timeframe because they had to wait for an appointment with a consultant for the news to be broken to them, and the availability of these appointments was limited.

To bring diagnosis times down, the team pioneered a structured cancer clinic led by Advanced Clinical Practitioner, Jo Harvey.

During the clinic, Jo (supported by CNSs Kath Johnson, Grace Preece and cancer care navigator Kerrie Burns) breaks the news to patients, organises tests and further biopsies and refers patients on to oncologists.

Not only has this innovative and cost effective way of working led to 81 per cent of patients achieving the 28-day diagnosis standard compared to the previous 46 per cent, but it’s also given patients a complete and holistic experience.

This year’s winners were announced at a ceremony held at the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel in Manchester on Tuesday 2 November. The ceremony, hosted by actor and presenter Richard Blackwood, was attended by 300 health and social care professionals and guests.

Speaking on behalf of the team at the event, Jo said: “The most rewarding thing is the autonomous practice that we have and the collaborative working. We function fully as a team and I think that’s because we have the same drive, passion and empathy.”

Don’t forget: You can book PCR testing for you and your symptomatic household members at Sandwell

PCR tests for colleagues and their symptomatic household members can be booked at Little Lane testing site, Sandwell Hospital, by calling the contact centre on ext. 0121 507 2664, option 6.

Note: We must remind colleagues they should be carrying out regular weekly saliva (LAMP) testing to ensure that they are able to quickly identify an active COVID infection. Family members should be carrying out lateral flow tests sourced from community distribution sites. 

Out with the old and in with the new – emergency equipment trolley checklist tool

The 2022 version of the emergency equipment trolley checklist book must be used for the documentation of daily, monthly and post use trolley checks. New books for 2022 have been distributed by the deteriorating patient and resuscitation team to individual wards.

We ask that all colleagues remove all previous books (including the laminated emergency equipment book) from the trolley and ensure they are archived.

For more information please email elizabeth.isaacson@nhs.net.

Abbott freestyle precision pro glucose/ketone meters

solutions currently in use on the wards for the point of care Abbott glucose/ketone meters are due to expire this month (January 2022). Wards must ensure new control solutions are collected from pathology reception as soon as possible.

For more information please call point of care on ext. 5352.

You can now collect your parking permit card

New Q-Park barrier parking permit cards are now available to collect for all those who have applied online.

Before coming to collect your permit please ensure you have applied online and have allowed five working days for processing. You will receive a confirmation email once your application has been accepted.

Please ensure you bring a form of ID with you to collect as barrier cards can only be given directly to the applicant. Q-Park will also take in your current NHS barrier card so there is no confusion about which one to use. Q-Park have allocated times for collection at each site seven days a week to ensure they have the resource available to assist.

Note: You cannot collect your permit outside of the hours below. If you do try to collect outside of these hours you will be asked to return at the correct collection times. *Collection times may differ during bank holidays.

Your barrier card will only be available from your primary site which you have stated in your application. For more information please email sandwell@q-park.com.

Colleagues who park at New Square: Though colleagues who park at New Square may have collected their parking permits, they should continue to park at New Square until the new Sandwell multi-storey car park opens.

Q-Park would also like to apologise for the delays in producing barrier card which was due to the delay in the new barriers being installed at City Hospital.