Monthly archives: December 2022

Annual Christmas decoration competition – winners announced

Colleagues across SWB have been as busy as Christmas elves getting their wards and departments decorated for the annual Christmas decoration competition. Dr Mark Anderson, Chief Medical Officer, Richard Beeken, Chief Executive, Mel Roberts, Chief Nursing Officer and Andy Churm, Star Awards Employee of the Year visited all corners of the Trust to see the decorations in all their glory.

SWB’s answer to the three wise men (and women), they chatted with colleagues about the current situation, checking teams were doing well despite the pressures felt this week and thanking them for their efforts.

The standard was truly tree-mendous, and all teams sleighed the competition. Thanks go to everyone who branched out and spruced up their areas! This year, the winners are…

• 1st place: McCarthy Ward – Rowley
• 2nd place: Newton 3 – Sandwell
• 3rd place: Medical infusion suite City

Special recognition goes to the research and development team at City Hospital alongside the emergency department paediatrics team at Sandwell and City.

Congratulations to you all – we’re raising a mistle-toast to the winners and to all who participated!

Heartbeat: New scanner is a game changer

We have become the first Trust in the country to use a pioneering whole breast Automated Breast Ultrasound Scanner (ABUS) within the symptomatic breast service. 

The Invenia ABUS can potentially detect cancer in dense breasts which may be masked in normal mammography due to overlying glandular tissue. 

The CE marked ultrasound technology looks differently at dense breast tissue, providing a comprehensive view of the breast. We are the first to use the ABUS in a symptomatic setting. It has advantages that the equipment can be used by staff not formally trained in ultrasound and reported remotely thus uncoupling the need for a consultant or advanced practitioner to be present in the room. They can then report on the images and perform a focused ultrasound and appropriate biopsies as needed.  

The service plans on using the equipment to potentially free up valuable consultant time. Potential additional uses include monitoring lesion response to chemotherapy, proving multifocality at the first visit, reducing need for further imaging such as MRI and repeat attendances. The service hope that it will help to eventually increase our clinic capacity by allowing a larger volume of the ABUS examinations to be reported for lower risk patients. 

Syeda Alam Breast Imaging Programme Manager, said: “The service has implemented the ABUS within the symptomatic rapid access clinics with a view to assessing whether capacity can be increased for the growing number of referrals through innovatively using mammographers and assistant practitioners to undertake the scan ready for the consultants to report.” 

An audit is being undertaken to explore potential protocols to help optimise the clinic pathway and evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the procedure. 

Colleague Christmas catering arrangements

Colleagues who are working on Christmas Day can enjoy a free meal from either the Hallam Restaurant at Sandwell, Arches Cafe at City, or Rowley’s Café.

There are no meal tickets needed just arrive at the restaurant/cafe for your meal with either your ID/name badge.

Brunch for colleagues will also be distributed to each ward on Christmas morning. Additional snacks of Christmas cake slices and mince pies will be sent to the all wards on Christmas Day. Should you need to speak with the catering team, please call ext. 6374, 3463 or 4881.

For further details on the opening ours in all our retail outlets throughout the festive period, please see staff Christmas arrangements sheet 2022.

Menu’s for patients over the Christmas and New Year period have also been published and can be downloaded on the following link.

Patients Christmas Arrangements 2022

Refurbishment of Hallam Close accommodation blocks from the start of 2023

Work will commence from Tuesday 3 January on the old nurse accommodation blocks on Hallam Close. This will affect colleague car parking in the area as scaffolding will be erected around all the blocks and construction site offices and welfare units will be sited within the walled area between the blocks. Colleagues are advised to use the Hallam Street car park or the multi-storey car park. The works are expected to last for approximately 12 months.

This is an extension of our award winning Live and Work scheme and once completed, will provide 54 one bedroomed apartments for young people and care leavers that we hope to have employed on apprenticeships within the Trust. If you can support an apprentice within your area and would like to help with this project, then please email maxine.griffiths@nhs.net.

Supporting patients with timely discharges

We need to work together to effectively balance risk and safety by means of continually reviewing the daily discharges. This requires your support and recognising a change of practice in these extreme times. Our ask of you is to weigh up the pros and cons of our patients remaining in hospital and including patients and families in these discussions with a clear focus on what matters to them.

When planning discharges please ensure you work closely with colleagues in pharmacy to ensure the TTOs are prepared in good time.

Colleagues in the Integrated Discharge Hub are also available to support you. Call them on extension 3147 or via integrated.discharge-hub@nhs.net (open 8am – 8pm, 7 days per week).

Remember the discharge lounges are now open 7 days a week from 7am through to 7pm at Sandwell and City Hospital:

• Sandwell – Newton 1
• City – now on D28 (moved from AMU 1)

The lounges are the ideal location for patients who no longer meet the criteria to reside in our acute bedbase. Patients can be stepped down to the lounge whilst awaiting TTOs, transport or transfer to MFFD beds.

Please include the discharge lounge in your patient discharge discussions so they are aware of the journey.

Making it easier to get your vaccinations and get protected

The occupational health and wellbeing team are making it easier for colleagues to get their flu and COVID-19 vaccinations this season, with increased visits to wards and clinics moved to more accessible and prominent locations.

We’re now at the time of year when respiratory infection figures start to increase, with the strong likelihood of a surge of COVID and seasonal flu. All colleagues at our Trust are urged to protect themselves with a COVID-19 booster jab and a flu vaccination. Not only will this protect yourself, your colleagues and your loved ones; crucially, you will help protect our patients who may be at serious risk if they contract flu or COVID-19 whilst in our care.

The Trust is offering vaccinations to all colleagues through a number of different means. Our clinics have moved to ensure they are as accessible and prominent as possible. You can get your vaccinations at the following locations:

• City: baby feeding room, ground floor corridor (opposite D6)
• Sandwell: main reception area

As of Monday 5 December, the Trust is offering vaccinations across both sites. Additionally, we are offering an early morning start on Wednesdays and a late finish on Thursdays, to enable staff to attend regardless of their shift patterns.

The vaccination team will be visiting wards across both sites to vaccinate colleagues who don’t have time to attend a clinic. If you’d like to book in a specific time, the team are able to work with you to arrange a vaccinator to attend the department. To discuss this, managers should contact Cara Shelton on 07507 523924.

Points to remember:

• You can have the flu and show no symptoms meaning you can be unknowingly spreading the virus to your family, friends and our patients.
• It’s important to have vaccinations as soon as possible, it can take up to two weeks for your body to build up good level of immunity.
• Our flu vaccines do not contain any porcine or egg ingredients.

You will be able to have either or both of the vaccines, administered in two separate injections, on the same day.

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. Flu vaccine being offered to SWB colleagues is cell-based quadrivalent influenza (QIVc).

If possible, please have your NHS number to hand upon attending, as this will help speed up the process.

Note: Tipton Sports Academy vaccine centre will close to the public on Monday 19  December. 

A schedule from December until the new year is available below.

Heartbeat: Breast screening team clear COVID backlog thanks to seven-day working

The City, Sandwell and Walsall Breast Screening Service have successfully cleared a backlog of thousands of patients which had risen due to the pandemic. At its height there were over 14,000 patients waiting to be screened after the service, run by Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, was halted for three months in March 2020 due to COVID. 

To recover, the team put in place several factors including boosting it to a seven-day service. Up to 10 additional clinics were introduced over weekends, with mammographers volunteering to cover the shifts to support the service restoration. This was in comparison to the usual pattern of working which was a five-day week with occasional Saturdays to provide an accessible service to patients. 

Syeda Alam, Breast Screening Programme Manager and Clinical Superintendent Radiographer, explained: “The service had a 47 per cent mammographer vacancy factor however, the remaining team members inclusive of the clinicians and administration team absorbed the significant increase in workload through the week. The seven-day working week was paid for with additional funds secured specifically to support recovery. 

“Nationally breast screening services were required to change the method of invitation to open invitations to ensure all women who needed to be screened were invited whilst optimising service capacity.  During COVID, the service submitted a proposal for a hybrid version of open invitations due to concerns of the potential detrimental effects on service uptake; our concerns were surrounding the high BAME percentage and areas of high deprivation. 

“When compared against the national trend post-COVID the service maintained an average uptake of 59.2 per cent where nationally uptake was dropping as low as 25 per cent.” 

The impact of COVID on the service was immense even after screening started again. Syeda continued: “When screening restarted after the first three months of COVID, it was at a reduced pace with appointments scheduled at 20 minutes intervals due to PPE and additional cleaning requirements to maintain client and staff safety. This was in comparison to the six-minute appointments prior to the pandemic.  

“There was other work to do. The clinic workflow was re-evaluated to support social distancing in line with COVID guidance and a one-way system of working was introduced on both the mobile vans and static sites.  An additional patient safety leaflet and signage was produced to reassure clients of the additional safety measures that had been implemented and detailed how they could support this process.   

“However, we persevered and successfully cleared the backlog in October this year. This was thanks to every member of the team, who stepped up and went the extra mile.”

Heartbeat: £50K grant to support young diabetes patients with new tech

A grant worth £50,000 is set to help reduce health inequalities and access to diabetes technology for our young patients.  

The funds have been awarded by NHS England to our paediatric diabetes service led by Dr Chizo Agwu, Deputy Medical Director.  

Diabetes patients often have to check their blood glucose levels at least four to five times a day and insulin has to be administered four times a day.  

New technology means that it is now possible to monitor glucose via special sensors that report levels to a portal which is accessed by the clinical team. And insulin therapy means the medication can be delivered via a small, computerised device that delivers insulin in two ways:  

• In a steady measured and continuous dose or 
• As a surge dose, at the patient’s direction, around mealtime. 

 We caught up with Chizo who told us more: “There is evidence that new diabetes technologies including insulin pump therapy and continuous glucose sensors help improve diabetes control and reduce risk of long-term complications.    

 “Some families are unable to access these technologies because training sessions are delivered in group settings and usually in English. Some don’t have access to smart phones or laptops that will enable diabetes teams to offer remote monitoring of their condition.  

 “This money has been awarded as part of a pilot and will enable us to develop and provide more bespoke individual training sessions and support to families.” 

 To get the best out of the technology, a smartphone is ideally required and this is where the funding will come in useful as it will enable the paediatric diabetes service to provide laptops and smartphones to patients who need them.   

 “The money will also help us to provide extra nurses to support families via increased training sessions to explain the benefits of diabetes technology,” added Chizo.  

 “We will also be able to provide 1 to 1 support as well as interpretation where required. Psychology support will be made available too and we will be able to develop training resources in different languages.”  

 Chizo says the aim is to increase the number of children and young people using the new therapies by at least 30 per cent.  

 “We have just over 300 patients in Sandwell and West Birmingham and a third of those would benefit hugely from using insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitoring sensors,” Chizo said.  

Heartbeat: Devin Carr visits SWB at part of Fundamentals of Care

Devin Carr, Chief Nursing Officer at Maine Medical Health Center, United States visited SWB during the month of November as part of the Trust’s continued plan to implement fundamentals of care across the Trust.

Having joined Medical Health Center in 2020, Devin leads the medical centres magnet-recognised nursing team. The centre focuses on and co-ordinates and supports a wide range of health and academic organisations across the globe with the implementing and research into fundamentals of care. Devin is also a senior member of the International Learning Collaborative, an organisation that leads research into the fundamentals of care. 

Ahead of the visit, earlier this year, a team of ten colleagues attended a fundamentals of care conference where Devin presented a paper about the impact of COVID on his team and patient care. The SWB team stayed and undertook a further two-day leadership programme where Devin provided mentorship for the group.  

Following the conference, Devin delivered a video presentation at our fundamentals of care launch event at West Bromwich Albion Football Club in September, where we heard from patients, carers and colleagues about what mattered to them when receiving care from either clinicians at our hospitals or in the community.

“Following the fundamentals of care event, many SWB staff developed a strong relationship with Devin and his team, and we have stayed connected ever since,” said Diane Eltringham, Deputy Chief Nurse. 

“Devin is keen to look at how UK hospitals lead staff in driving fundamentals of care and we believe his input will be invaluable for us as the nursing team he leads has recently been awarded a magnet accreditation for the 4th time. 

“Whilst our journey with fundamentals of care is interdisciplinary it is acknowledged that the accreditation builds pride not only across nursing teams but all staff.” 

As part of the visit, Devin visited our Midland Metropolitan University Hospital which is expected to open in 2024 as well as our capacity team and many of our wards at City Hospital including cardiology. 

Di believes the visit was hugely beneficial for colleagues as it gave many a better insight into fundamentals of care. 

She said: “The visit allowed an array of clinical colleagues at all levels to speak with Devin about fundamentals of care and ultimately how it will aid our patients and the populations we serve. 

“Devin was able to share his expertise and knowledge with us which will in turn, only help us to improve upon the care we give to all our patients who come through our doors.”   

She added: “The visit from Devin also gave us the opportunity us to raise awareness within staff groups that following the September launch of fundamentals of care, it is our foremost strategy to improve the safety and quality of patient care, experience and outcomes at SWB.” 

Have you had your festive chocolates?

Teams have been allocated tubs of chocolates to share, as a gift from our Trust Board to say thank you.   Each department in the Trust has been allocated a certain number of tubs based on headcount. Deliveries have been taking place over the last week and there are more deliveries taking place this week.

Most of the chocolates will have been delivered to teams by Wednesday 21 December. Therefore, if your department has not yet received its delivery, please check with your colleagues for departments that work across more than one site.  The chocolates have been delivered to one location and teams have been asked to distribute them to colleagues on other sites. Therefore, please check that your allocation hasn’t already been delivered to another site before contacting stores, as the Trust are unable to issue additional quantities of chocolates due to availability.

There may be some teams that have unfortunately received their chocolates yet. If you believe this is the case with your team, please contact the stores department at City (ext. 4597)/Sandwell (ext. 3135) to arrange collection or check on delivery.

Note: You will need to state the name of your department (as held in ESR) and your location so your allocation can be identified.