Monthly archives: October 2022

AHPs Day this Friday

Friday 14 October is Allied Health Professions (AHPs) Day! It’s the annual opportunity for AHPs and support workers to come together and celebrate being part of the AHP family.

AHP Day also serves as a platform to showcase some of the amazing work that happens by Allied Health Professions within the Trust and further afield.

Allied Health Professions are a group of healthcare professionals from 14 different professions, making up the third largest healthcare workforce.

Here at the Trust we employ 10 of the 14 professions which include diagnostic radiographers, speech and language therapists, operating department practitioners, dietitians, physiotherapists, orthotists, orthoptists, paramedics, podiatrists and occupational therapists. We do not currently employ osteopaths, music therapists, drama therapists or art therapists.

James Severs, Chief Allied Health Professional said: “I’m so proud to be celebrating our AHP family this week. If you see a friendly AHP or support worker, let them know you’re celebrating them too!”

Over the course of this week, we will be celebrating two professions each day leading us to the National AHP Day on Friday. Be sure to check out this video featuring, Michael Johnson, Speech and Language Therapist and Redouan Meziani and Saeed Hoque, Radiographers talking about AHP Day.

Congratulations to all our winners at this year’s Star Awards!

Last Friday we held our 2022 Star Awards where a total of 14 awards were handed out to both clinical and non-clinical colleagues across SWB.

Our awards ceremony, which was held at Aston Villa Football Club, aims to recognise the hard work and dedication of our colleagues and volunteers, both on the frontlines and our supporting services.

Throughout this week, we will be celebrating all our award winners from the annual awards.

Today we feature:

• Rising Star Award – Jason Yap, Consultant
• Volunteer of the Year – Michael Reay
• Partnerships with the Community Award – Integrated Discharge Hub

Be sure to also check out these short clips of SWB colleagues talking about our 2022 winners.

Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 7 October

A very special event is happening tonight when we celebrate the finalists in our annual star awards and announce the winners. These awards showcase an amazing breadth of teams and individuals who have done and continue to do exemplary work to support our patients, our people and our population. I am really looking forward to joining in the celebrations and would like to wish good luck to all those up for an award tonight.

Almost 400 nominations were received and, sadly, not everyone can be a finalist or a winner. Everyone who was nominated deserves recognition. Seeing the range of nominations I am incredibly proud of the broad and diverse church that make up our SWB family.  On the subject of diversity, October is Black History Month and an opportunity to appreciate the different cultures and stories that make up our workforce and create this truly unique organisation. Everyone’s contribution is significant, and we are richer as individuals and teams when we celebrate and learn from others’ experiences.  We were reminded at our leadership conference that taking time to understand colleagues’ heritage is really important.  We mustn’t make assumptions about people based on their perceived background or identity. We become a stronger, more values driven organisation when we stop, listen and find out about each other.

Throughout this month we are hoping that Black History Month is an opportunity to capture, educate and share positive achievements and knowledge across the Trust. Our BME network are still looking out for stories so please share these with trina.bme@nhs.net and check our communications bulletin for information on events and free resources available in the local area.

This month we re-introduced Schwartz Rounds as part of our weLearn approach and staff wellbeing offer.  The Round title was ‘The Power of a Thank you’.  I am certain we are often thankful for what our colleagues do, but do you always make it obvious and clear what you are thanking them for?  Not every “thank you” has to be big. There is a correlation when we are appreciated and thanked: it builds positive relationships, brings joy into your work and, as one of our Trust values, creates Compassion and a compassionate workplace.  At our leadership conference, we learned that civility saves lives.  The evidence for it is compelling. “Thank you” to our panellists for sharing their personal stories in the session on 4 October and those who attended for engaging and contributing to the conversation.

It is clear that recognition, appreciation and simple “thank yous” have a big impact.  Do please bear this in mind in every interaction you have with a colleague.

Have a good weekend.

Richard

Diabetes training: 14 December

Our diabetes team are hosting a diabetes training day on Wednesday 14 December from 9.30am – 11am aimed at HCAs, support workers and all Band 4  healthcare workers both based in the community and our hospital sites.

Topics covered in the training will include:

• What is diabetes?
• Types of diabetes
• Signs and symptoms of diabetes
• Hypoglycaemia
• Hyperglycaemia
• Overview of a hypo box and its use
• Overview and use of the Pro-xceed meter/Neo H meter

There will also be a Q&A session and after completing this training you will be emailed a digital certificate which can be added to your portfolio.

To book on this training and find out more, please email anitakaur@nhs.net.

Good luck to all shortlisted nominees at the 2022 Star Awards!

Tonight will see the Trust host our annual Star Awards ceremony at Aston Villa Football Club.

With thirteen different awards up for grabs, the glitzy event will highlight and recognise an amazing breadth of teams and individuals who have done and continue to do exemplary work to support our patients, our people and our population.

We would like to congratulate all those who have been nominated for this year’s awards and wish them the best of luck for this evening.

Living With COVID-19 Bulletin: Thursday 6 October

1. COVID testing in periods of low prevalence

Colleagues are reminded that due to the low prevalence of COVID-19 infections in the community, NHS England has paused current routine asymptomatic testing for many patients and staff.

Symptomatic testing will continue for both patients and colleagues, based on the current list of COVID-19 symptoms. Although the main symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, a new and continuous cough, anosmia (loss of smell) and ageusia (loss of taste), it is important to remember that COVID-19 can present as a wide range of other symptoms including, for example, shortness of breath, fatigue, loss of appetite, myalgia (muscle ache), sore throat, headache, nasal congestion (stuffy nose), runny nose, diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting.
Note: Testing for clinically vulnerable patients will continue.

Routine asymptomatic testing for colleagues to pause
Colleagues are no longer required to test twice weekly for COVID-19 and are encouraged to test if they feel unwell and if positive, isolate as stated in the revised isolation guidance which you can read on Connect.

There will be lateral flow testing for colleagues working in areas where there is a breakout of COVID-19 and PCR testing will take place if there is continued transmission in an area. The testing hub based in Little Lane car park is now closed.

Click here to access the full information sheet regarding COVID testing in periods of low prevalence.

2. COVID-19 vaccinations now available
It’s important that we stay protected against COVID-19 especially as winter is approaching. Immunity against the virus can wane over time but your booster will offer you ongoing protection.
Please note, the one metre social distancing rule has been relaxed across sites, but we ask you to please exercise caution.
If you have recently tested positive for COVID-19, you can have your booster 28 days afterwards. You can also still have your flu jab within that period if you feel well.
Vaccinations both for flu and COVID-19 continue at City Hospital for the rest of this week on the first floor corridor (old outpatients) and will be offered as drop-in sessions from 8.30am – 4pm.
A clinic will also be taking place at Rowley on Wednesday 12 October for colleagues, whilst Tipton Vaccination Centre is also offering the vaccination to staff. Colleagues can book appointment slots here.
The COVID-19 vaccine being offered to staff will be a booster dose only of Spikevax bivalent Original/Omicron. You must have had two primary doses of either Pfizer, AstraZeneca or Moderna. Your last vaccine must have been more than 91 days ago and you must be 18 years or over to meet the criteria.

The flu vaccine being offered to staff is cell-based quadrivalent influenza (QIVc).

You will be able to have either or both of the vaccines, administered in two separate injections, on the same day. You will be greeted by a receptionist who will confirm your personal details and ask you a few pre-assessment questions. It would be useful if you could have your NHS and payroll number available, as this will enable you to be found a lot easier on the system. You will then be guided to one of the COVID vaccinators who will do a clinical assessment. If the criteria is met you will then receive your vaccination. If you are having the flu jab you will be guided to the flu vaccination waiting area to wait for 15 minutes. If you are not having flu vaccine you will be free to go straight after your COVID vaccine unless you are driving and then we will ask you to wait 15 minutes. If you have already received either vaccines you can still attend for the other.

Note: If you have your NHS number to hand, please bring it along with you when you have your jab as it will speed up the vaccination process. You can find out your NHS number by clicking here.
Receiving your COVID booster/flu jab elsewhere?
If you receive your COVID booster and/or flu vaccination elsewhere please ensure to have your place of work recorded as Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust on the system at the time of vaccination. This will help keep your occupational health records updated and avoid any further chasing for having the jabs.
If you have any other questions, contact occupational health on 0121 507 3306. Boost your immunity this winter – get your flu jab and COVID-19 booster.

The Connect Coronavirus page is continually being updated with the latest news and guidance regarding the virus, please take the time to read and familiarise yourself with this.

Disabling unused and out of date devices to keep the Trust secure – are you affected?

Thank you to everyone who has been working with IT to upgrade and maintain their devices, your support and responsiveness help ensure we are able to keep our data safe and secure.

However, there remain devices that sit unused, either disconnected from the network, powered down or tucked away in a cupboard. Whilst this is a waste of much needed resources, this also poses a significant security risk to the Trust. Devices that are not regularly used or connected to the network, do not successfully receive timely security updates, leaving them open to being a cyber security risk.

Devices that have been identified by the IT department as being unused, off the network and unavailable or otherwise unable to be updated are now being disabled.

Users of affected devices have been regularly issued notifications highlighting an urgent need to contact the IT Service desk. Colleagues that have disregarded these notices will find their devices disabled.

This means that users attempting to login to a machine that has been disabled by the IT team due to it not being used, updated or located will be met with the notice below explaining, “The security database on the server does not have a computer account for this workstation trust relationship”.

Colleagues who have devices that are not actively used should ensure they return these to the IT department for reissue. When devices are required, they can be sourced by contacting the IT Service desk on ext. 4050 or by contacting the Chat with the IT Service Desk.

Thanks again to those of you who have been proactive in keeping the Trust cyber secure.

Maintenance affecting the pathology service: 10 October, 10pm – midnight

Please be aware that essential IT maintenance is taking place on Monday 10 October from 10pm to midnight affecting the pathology service at Sandwell and City.

During the maintenance, Unity will remain fully available; however, from 10pm to midnight on Monday 10 October colleagues will need to revert to requesting microbiology tests and Blood Bank requests on paper forms as well as on Unity.

Paper requests will be required to process pathology samples during the maintenance period and as soon as the maintenance is complete, orders will be booked in electronically and reported through to message centre ready for endorsement. Colleagues can continue to make ICE requests during the downtime but there will be a delay receiving results. 

Urgent results will be phoned to the affected users during the downtime.

The activity will be closely monitored, and desk top alerts will be issued from 8pm advising colleagues of the need to revert to BCP for requesting microbiology tests and Blood Bank requests during the maintenance.

Should you have any further queries then please do call the pathology team on 0121 507 6600 or email on swbh.pathology-it@nhs.net.

How to complete your NHS Staff Survey online

The NHS Staff Survey is one of the important ways for SWB to find out what is working well and what can be improved.

It is essential that SWB colleagues are able to complete the survey in a safe and confidential manner.

As you know the survey is administered by Quality Health, an independent external contractor to ensure that individual responses are not visible to the SWB.

Quality Health have provided a few tips to help you complete the online survey:

• Firstly – look for your email invitation to your work account from  insightandfeedback@iqvia.com
• In that email you will find a unique link that will take you to the online questionnaire. The link is unique only to you, please do not share it with anyone else.
• The link will take you to an online confidential portal where you can complete the survey

Find out more in the video below:

You can contact Quality Health Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm on 0800 783 1775 or helpline@quality-health.co.uk.

The survey will close on 25 November.

Cycling for everyone