Monthly archives: July 2022

Show members of your team how great they are – send them a thank you postcard

Everyday across our workplace we come across colleagues (both clinical and non-clinical) who have gone above and beyond and helped us. From small little gestures to bigger favours – all these kind acts make our working day that much easier.

Managers – why not send your colleagues a thank you postcard: We now have a range of official SWB branded thank you postcards which can be sent to anyone you just want to say thank you to.

Managers can order cards by emailing Medical Illustration at swbh.miprint@nhs.net using code MS6413 and providing your cost code.

Note: Please note that a minimum order of 50 cards is required – a pack of 50 cards is £8.

Implementing boundaries in the 24/7 culture: An ICS event

The ICS are hosting an event around work life balance and implementing boundaries in the 24/7 culture we currently live in.

The sessions will take place on Monday 3 October, 1pm – 2.30pm and Thursday 11 October, 6pm – 7.30pm – click the links to register.

For more information please email samuel.skelding1@nhs.net.

The science of mindfulness: An ICS event

The ICS are hosting an event around mindfulness. The session will explore mindfulness as a scientifically proven strategy for health and wellbeing and realistic strategies for incorporating mindfulness into busy lives.

The sessions will take place on Monday 12 September, 1pm – 2.30pm and Tuesday 20 September, 6pm – 7.30pm – click the links to register.

For more information please email samuel.skelding1@nhs.net.

Commonwealth Games commence on 28 July

On Thursday 28 July, Alexander Stadium will kick-off the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

To ensure this runs as smoothly as possible, there will be some additional traffic management measures in Perry Barr including the closure of the A34 southbound from the Scott Arms to Perry Barr Station.

When is this happening?

Traffic management and parking measures come into place in Perry Barr from Friday 22 July – Wednesday 10 August. Additional measures will be in place from 3pm –12.03am, Sunday 24 July, Tuesday 26 July, Thursday 28 July and Monday 8 August.

What does this mean for you?

A34 southbound will be restricted to local access, and buses only from the Scott Arms junction to Perry Barr Station. Aldridge Road will also be restricted to only allow access to the residents of the road, businesses and local buses. Avoid travelling through Perry Barr where possible on these dates. Travel will be majorly disrupted after 3pm. If you need to travel through this area to avoid delays and long traffic queues, consider retiming your journey to outside of these times.

Full details of road closures and restrictions can be found on the Birmingham 2022 website: https://www.birmingham2022.com/getset/local-residents/area.

For everything Commonwealth Games please visit our Connect page.

Do you know what routes are affected near you during the Commonwealth Games Baton Relay?

The Commonwealth Games Baton Relay is taking place across Birmingham this week. This means there will be many road closures and restrictions during this period which are likely to have an impact on colleagues commuting in to and out of work as well as colleagues making home visits.

Colleagues are advised to review the routes they take to commute to work as well as plan their home visits accordingly.

An interactive map of the planned route and events taking place during the baton relay can be found here: https://www.birmingham2022.com/queens-baton-relay/route/england.

Are you following IPC requirements when assessing monkeypox?

The clinical pathway for suspected Monkeypox has recently been updated and is available below.

SWB monkeypox patient pathway guidance

The major updates include:

• Updated contact tracing link
• Waste management now orange bags not yellow bins

When assessing a patient with suspect monkeypox please ensure you follow IPC requirements, you have the correct PPE (FFP3 mask, eye protection, apron and gloves) as well as isolation and cleaning guidance. This includes when caring for a patient with an unexplained rash or unexplained blistering to skin.

For further information about monkeypox, please click here.

Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 22 July

Thank you to all colleagues who have battled through the extreme heat this week to keep your services running and prioritise patient safety. I know that it has been incredibly challenging and uncomfortable – I hope the additional supplies of bottled water and some iced refreshments made their way through to those of you most in need of additional hydration and cooling down.

We continue to see, treat and admit into hospital beds increasing numbers of patients with COVID-19. This isn’t translating into more people being acutely unwell as a result of the virus, as few have COVID-19 as their primary diagnosis. Nevertheless we are keeping in line with national guidance to test and stream all patients appropriately so that we can minimise the risk of transmission of these two very contagious strains.  There is an increasing school of thought that those guidelines are unsustainable given the urgent care and elective recovery expectations placed upon us.  We are representing this view regularly, along with other Trusts, at regional and national forums.

I must emphasise that our updated IPC guidelines now include the requirement for EVERYONE to wear a fluid-resistant surgical mask when you are in a shared area in our Trust estate, in patient’s homes who are untested, and in all health centres. I have seen excellent compliance in our clinical areas this week but I have to say I am disappointed in my experiences within some of the non-clinical parts of the Trust. Please ensure you comply and challenge your colleagues appropriately. The absence of colleagues due to sickness has continued to rise and we need to avoid more people catching the virus and needing to stay away from work.

Summer has well and truly arrived, but there has been no easing of demand across our services, particularly in urgent and emergency care, where the pressure is feeling relentless. We need to ensure that we are all pulling together to improve the care we provide for patients which is, if we are honest, sub-optimal, despite the best efforts of our clinical and support teams. Actions to deal with this must focus on avoiding admission through our community teams working hand in hand with local authority teams, meeting the needs of patients at home within two hours through our urgent community response approach, ensuring that our frailty pathway is effective and implemented appropriately, best use of same day emergency care and straightforward care navigation so that we wrap the right care round our patients as quickly as possible.  Wards and services must “pull” patients up from our emergency portals – our ED teams are under too much pressure to be expected to “push” those patients to you.

Ensuring that patients can move safely and effectively through our integrated care pathways is everyone’s job whether you work in primary care, in the community, on a surgical or medical ward or in our very busy emergency and acute assessment areas. Please ensure you support colleagues and play your part so that patient care can be better each day.

Need help with your patient leaflet?

Need to know more about health literacy? Or perhaps you have a patient leaflet to update? Book a place on one of the library services writing patient leaflets sessions:

• Tuesday 23 August, 1.15pm – 3.45pm

If you would like to book a place either for yourself or as a group please contact the library at swbh.library@nhs.net or 0121 507 3587.

Note: If you can’t attend any of the sessions the team would be happy to arrange a separate session for you or your team.

Are you finding it difficult searching for evidence?

Struggling to find journal articles or evidence for a report/QI project/paper you are working on? The library can help by showing you how to search databases such as Medline, CINAHL and Embase.

They are running online sessions using Teams over the next few months on the dates below.

• Wednesday 10 August, 2.45pm – 4.15pm
• Friday 26 August, 9.45am – 11.15am

If you would like to book a place either for yourself or as a group please contact the library at swbh.library@nhs.net or 0121 507 3587.

Note: If you can’t attend any of the sessions the team would be happy to arrange a separate time for you or your team.

Heartbeat: Full steam ahead as new construction programme agreed for Midland Met

Our new hospital, the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital, will be handed over to the Trust before the end of 2023, meaning that we will open for patients in 2024 – as soon as possible following the equipping and fit out stage.

The news comes after a thorough review of the construction programme with Balfour Beatty, led by the national New Hospital Full steam ahead as new construction programme agreed for Midland Met.

Midland Met provides a unique opportunity to create a healthcare facility that will enhance the care we deliver for our local communities for generations to come.

It’s our chance to create a modern, purpose-built hospital for those with urgent, emergency and acute care needs, with specialist clinics, day-case surgery and planned diagnostics at the City, Sandwell and Rowley Regis Hospital sites.

Our move to Midland Met is a journey, and we are now at a point where we can collectively move forward with our plans to transform services across our estate at SWB and in our communities.

Richard Beeken, Chief Executive, said: “The main outside construction is now complete, and some benchmark rooms are in place so we can see what the clinical facilities will look like once open.

“It is more than a hospital. We are working on our care model to ensure we can deliver first-class care alongside enhanced community services.

“I would like you to be assured that we are now in a really good place with the revised programme and the partnership with Balfour Beatty.”

As our main centre for acute and emergency care, Midland Met includes a purpose-built emergency department with co-located imaging and diagnostic services, a dedicated children’s emergency department and assessment unit, plus adult and children’s wards.

Work has progressed across all nine floors, including the underground car parks. Our new hospital has approximately 700 beds, with over half of these in single-ensuite rooms. There are 11 emergency, trauma and elective inpatient operating theatres, maternity theatres and 15 birthing rooms for maternity services.

As well as being a centre of excellence for clinical care and research, our new hospital is designed around a new therapeutic model of care to encourage patients to maintain mobility and independence during a hospital stay.

Midland Met also houses public areas, including our winter garden and an 80m long art gallery that will be open to residents.

From 25 June – 3 September, Abundance – a natural, inclusive garden play space will be situated outside City Hospital, and colleagues are welcome to visit and take pleasure in the area.

This garden play space has been designed and built by Spectra and local community groups for everyone to access and enjoy as part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival.

Your Trust Charity is supporting this project and is one of many the Trust will champion to enrich our local communities.

More recently, some colleagues have visited Midland Met and have been inspired by what they have seen.

Mr Tariq Sami, Urology Consultant, remarked: “It really is an impressive place. I can’t wait to start working here. It’s been positive to see our dedicated urology area.”

Angie Smith, Matron for Surgery, added: “Our new hospital looks fantastic. I’ve looked at the wards, and they are amazing. SAU will be fantastic, and the area for same day emergency care is coming along great.”