Monthly archives: October 2022
Making multi-agency early help more effective for families
Join Sandwell Early Help Partnership and other local children and young people practitioners to consider how to build on strong partnerships and make multi-agency early help in Sandwell even more effective for families.
They have arranged four sessions that will all be held virtually through Teams and at various times of the day to encourage as many partners, as possible to participate. The sessions will take place as follows:
- Friday 7 October, 1pm – 2pm
- Monday 10 October, 3pm – 4pm
- Wednesday 12 October, 10am – 11am
- Thursday 13 October, 12pm – 1.00pm
Please note: You will only need to attend one of the sessions above and will receive the Teams link a little closer to the date.
To book on one of these sessions and find our more, please click here.
Stoptober – there’s no better time to quit
Throughout the month of October we will be recognising Stoptober which encourages smokers to quit smoking.
Smoking has many negative impacts on health and wellbeing including:
- Smoking is the nation’s no.1 killer
- One in two long-term smokers will die from a smoking-related illness.
- Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body. It is the leading cause of lung cancer, respiratory disease and heart disease as well as numerous cancers in other organs including lip, mouth, throat, bladder, kidney, stomach, liver and cervix.
- Smoking increases the risk of type 2 diabetes and dementia.
- Second hand smoke is dangerous for anyone exposed to it, especially children who breathe faster and have less well developed lungs, airways and immune systems.
Benefits of stopping smoking:
- You can save money – around £250 a month and £3,000 a year.
- Your sense of taste will return and you will enjoy the taste of food more.
- Your breathing and general fitness will improve.
- The appearance of your skin and teeth will improve.
- You’ll be more confident in social situations because you won’t smell of stale smoke any more.
Want to quit smoking?
You can access a stop smoking service by:
- Phone: 0800 0114656 or 0121 569 5100
- Email: ls@nhs.net
- Text: “QUIT” to 60777
For further information please click here.
Ethicon laparoscopic training bus at City: 7 and 8 October
The Ethicon laparoscopic training bus will be on site at City on Friday 7 and Saturday 8 October (closing around at 1pm on Saturday). The bus will be parked at the side of hearing services department by the BTC.
There will be various educational workshops throughout the day:
- Science of energy and hands on workshop
- Science of stapling and hands on workshop
- Science of wound closure and hands on workshop
- Safer electrosurgery – smoke evacuation
- Sustainability workshop
- Surgical simulation workshops
Training will be suitable for surgeons, surgical trainees (all levels), theatre staff, scrub nurses in Gynaecology and colorectal/ general surgery etc. however anyone interested is welcome to attend.
There will also be light refreshments throughout the day.
Why the NHS Staff Survey matters
The more colleagues know they are being listened to and that the organisation is acting on their feedback, the better the outcomes for us and our patients. A lot of good work is going on but there is always room to do more to ensure the best experience for all of us, regardless of where we work.
Despite the pressures of the pandemic, in 2021 more than 2,900 (39 per cent) of you completed the Staff Survey. This was really appreciated, and we hope even more will be able to do so this year. After the unique demands of the last few years, it is more important than ever that you can share your views on your working experience and how it can be improved.
The NHS Staff Survey is a rich source of data to support and understand our NHS people’s working experiences. The data is publicly available on the NHS Staff Survey website and is well used by a wide range of organisations such as NHS England and the CQC. You can find out more about the survey here.
It is important that SWB colleagues from all backgrounds and experiences take part in the survey as we each have a voice that counts. Please do take time to watch this short video by Chief Executive, Richard Beeken who explains why giving your feedback is important.
Many of you will have received an invitation via email to your NHS account from insightandfeedback@iqvia.com. Colleagues in catering, transport, portering and domestic/ward services will have received paper copies with a freepost envelope to send the feedback straight to Quality Health.
If you have any queries or have not received your survey please contact Quality Health Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm on 0800 783 1775 or helpline@quality-health.co.uk.
The survey will close on Friday 25 November.
Patient initiated follow-up open session
Patient Initiated follow-up (PIFU) has been highlighted as one way to restore and transform NHS elective care and ensure best use of capacity following COVID-19. This hinges on avoiding unnecessary follow-ups while transforming the quality of care outpatient services are offering, ensuring patients are seen at the right time as well as empowering them to take control of their own health in line with the personalised care agenda.
An open session will be delivered by NHSE Midlands via the Microsoft Teams platform aimed at both clinical and non-clinical colleagues tomorrow (Wednesday 5 October) from 1pm – 2pm
Click here to join the session.
Health disparities webinar: Using data and health literacy techniques to reduce inequalities
Did you know nearly half the adults in England (43 per cent) struggle to read and understand health information? When that information includes numbers as well as words, this rises to 61 per cent.
This means important details, such as how to take medicines and dosage, understanding appointment letters and test results can be missed – and not everyone feels confident to say when they don’t understand.
To address health disparities, a key focus needs to be on improving health literacy, digital literacy and digital access. In this webinar attendees will find out about newly available maps and online tool using, place-based geodata to identify levels of health literacy and digital access in your area.
This event takes place on Thursday 20 October, from 12.30pm. To book your place and find out more please click here.
Check out the latest edition of Heartbeat
In the latest edition of Heartbeat, we highlight our recent Fundamentals of Care event held at the Hawthorns.
We also cover:
- NHS Staff Survey
- Our health and wellbeing team being shortlisted for a national award
- SWB launching a new TikTok channel.
Do you have a submission for Heartbeat? Email isobel.hunter1@nhs.net with your news, stories and achievements to feature in a future edition or call us on ext. 5303.
TeamTalk briefing
TeamTalk took place on Wednesday (28 September) where colleagues were briefed on national and regional updates as well as the latest news regarding living with COVID-19.
If you were not able to make the session you can download a copy of the briefing presentation below and watch the presentation.
Midland Met Lunch and Learn recap now available
Did you miss our debut lunch and learn sessions? Don’t worry; we’ve got you covered if so!
Just because you couldn’t join us on the day, doesn’t mean you can’t get to grips with the topics we discussed.
Lunch and Learn sessions are a fantastic way to learn about work taking place across SWB as we get ready to move into Midland Met.
These sessions let colleagues discover more about a topic or area as we get ready to open our doors in 2024.
You can check out the slides here:
You can also watch the research and development session hosted by Prof Derek Connolly here.
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