Monthly archives: January 2023
Star of the Week – Shadyear Ghalib
Congratulations to our Star of the Week Shadyear Ghalib, Specialist Podiatrist.
Shadyear always goes above and beyond for her patients and regularly sees emergency patients, often booked in as extras to her clinical workload.
Recently, Shadyear saw an additional two patients on the same day who were identified by colleagues as presenting with deteriorating ulcerations and necrosis to the feet. One patient in particular was highlighted by a colleague in the district nursing team. Shadyear was already due to see this patient at home at the end of the week however, following the conversation with the district nursing colleague, she decided to see the patient sooner than planned. This resulted in the patient being escalated into the emergency vascular clinic in a timely manner.
This is all in a day’s work for Shadyear, who always puts her patients first. She has a great work ethic and continues to grow and develop to deliver extremely high standards of care to our most vulnerable patients.
Do you know someone in your team that has gone above and beyond the call of duty? Why not put them forward for Star of the Week by clicking here.
Patient safety notice: Oxygen cylinders where patients do not have access to medical gas pipeline systems
NHS England have released a national patient safety alert regarding the use of oxygen cylinders in areas where there is no access to medical gas piped systems.
As a result of current pressures on the NHS there is a need to ensure that we are following the NHS England guidance on the ‘safe use of oxygen cylinders’.
Colleagues ensure they familiarise themselves with the Use of Oxygen Cylinders help sheet.
Note: A subgroup of the medical gas committee will look at the management of cylinders across the organisation, reviewing and updating current policies and procedures for medical gas cylinders and associated training required and developing business continuity plans in the event of a supply shortage.
Pulse survey closes today – have you completed yours?
The Pulse survey closes today (Tuesday 31 January) – Don’t forget to use the link you have been sent to have your say.
Listening to your views remains as important as ever to us. We are using the NHS Quarterly Pulse Survey to regularly check in with you and help improve the support we provide for all colleagues.
This will take just five minutes of your time to complete and allows you to tell us more about your experiences at work including how motivated you feel and what would make the biggest difference to improve what it’s like to work here.
Most colleagues will have received an invite to the survey by email from ‘survey@quality-health.co.uk’ directly to their inbox. Please take the time to find the email, follow the link and complete the survey.
Should you have any questions or difficulties completing the survey, you can contact survey helpline on 0800 783 1775 (Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm). Alternatively, you can email helpline@quality-health.co.uk
Leading prevention in clinical services: Guided professional development to opportunity
Are you a health care professional with the passion and enthusiasm to drive the implementation of public health and prevention within your clinical setting or area of work? Health Education England are recruiting a group of health care professionals from within clinical settings across the North West and Midlands region into an action learning programme that will help build preventative public health practice into clinical services.
To apply, please complete the Expression of interest form – leading prevention in clinical services and email it to mike.parker@progresshp.co.uk
The deadline for all submissions is Tuesday 14 February, 5pm.
New vice chair for the LGBT+ Staff Network – Katie Gillam Price
We are pleased to announce that Katie Gillam Price has been appointed as the new vice chair for the LGBT+ Staff Network. If you wish to contact her regarding the network, please email k.gillamprice@nhs.net.
LGBT Pride Walk: Sandwell Council have organised an LGBT Pride walk on Saturday 25 February, 10.30am – 12:30pm at Sandwell Valley Country Park. Participants are to meet at Sandwell Valley Visitors Centre. The pride walk will take place through the Valley and Dartmouth Park and pride attire is encouraged. Sandwell Council are welcoming all participants to join them for the walk. No booking required.
Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 27 January
This week, the Midland Met Programme Company senior team and I have been putting the finishing touches to a detailed document and slide deck, which sets out the evidence about the history of, the workforce model for, the activity numbers for and the revenue consequences of, this once in a generation development. The document is hugely important, because it is the basis of what we will be using to inform both of our Integrated Care Board (ICB) members and fellow system Chief Executives, about the Midland Met, which will be opening in 2024.
Much has changed since the Midland Met business case and assumptions were last reviewed and revised in 2019. As an illustration:
- The COVID-19 pandemic, has shifted IPC practice and had a profound impact on workforce numbers, patient flow and productivity
- National best practice in acute care has shifted significantly – for example same day emergency care, admission avoidance, virtual wards and more resilience in acute medicine, 7 days per week – these are now the expected norms for the here and now, let alone in a ground-breaking hospital development which will open in 2024
- There have been permanent shifts in activity, previously not assumed – for example, the increase in ambulance activity and consequently admissions to SWB, from, East and North Birmingham postcodes
- Our cost base and numbers of staff directly employed by the Trust, has increased by 12% since 2019, thus impacting on the discussions with our ICBs about affordability, given little latitude in NHS commissioning budgets for “developments”
We have a task on our hands to take ICB Board members through the history of the Midland Met, its care model and critically, its benefits. If we are going to ask our ICBs for more money when the NHS locally has little to spare, and then explain to other NHS Trusts that every extra pound given to our Trust means one less pound for their Trusts, then the articulation of the benefits of the MMUH needs to be detailed, and sophisticated. We have a dedicated workstream starting to set out quantifiable benefits of the MMUH, in the short, medium and long term. We all need to understand those as colleagues at SWB, as we all have the exciting task of talking them up but then the unenviable task of delivering them.
I will share with you what we calculate the MMUH benefits will be, very soon.
Have a good week.
Richard
weLearn Wednesday: Recognising a dying patient
Each month as part of weLearn Wednesdays we present a new learning pack identified as a key learning topic from local serious incidents, investigations, complaints, litigation, or coroner cases. The learning may not have a direct link to your area of work; however, the learning provides an opportunity to reflect on some of the wider issues that could be useful for you to consider.
This month’s weLearn is taking learning from incidents, deaths and complaints that have identified greater need to acknowledge our current strengths and weaknesses as part of the decision process, and a need to recognise the possibility of dying in a time-dependent context.
Working with the palliative medicine team we will be focussing on supporting clinicians with this learning – please keep a close eye on related communications through March.
For more information please see weLearn January Newsletter
If you would like to be involved in the weLearn user reference group, please email marsha.jones3@nhs.net.
Latest edition of Heartbeat now available
This month, we’re taking a look inside Harvest View, the new reablement centre run in partnership with the local authority. Furthermore, we’ve outlined a recent event in which SWB Chief Executive Richard Beeken and Chair Sir David Nicholls met with fellow leaders from across the public sector, including West Midlands Mayor Andy Street, in order to agree the strategy to maximise the opportunity that MMUH offers.
We’ve also shared the Midland Met roadmap from January to June 2023 and heard from Aaron-Bertram Miller on his part in Midland Met.
If you’re a piano expert or know someone who is, head to page 19 to learn more about the Medical Infusion Suite’s donated piano and how you can help.
Click here to read the January edition of Heartbeat.
Developing your clinical skills: palliative & end of life care
People tell us they want to improve their palliative & end of life care skills.
You may know we have some face to face training available now info here & foundation online sessions are also available via your ESR.
To help us make the local offer even better please give us 3 minutes of your time and complete our survey to tell us how best we can support you and your colleagues’ practice development needs.
Please click on this link to take you to the survey.
Thank you so much for your time.
Any questions please email us on swb-tr.swbh-gm-connected-pc-hub@nhs.net
Plan your journey – public transport disruption
Colleagues are advised to ensure they plan and review their journey to work ahead of setting out.
Due to industrial action, poor weather and roadworks some routes regularly used by colleagues can experience delays leading to longer journeys.
For the latest routes information and travel updates please refer to the Travel for West Midlands website.
Alternatively colleagues can download the TfWM app available from the Apple Appstore or Google Playstore.
- Plan a journey
- Find your closest mode of transport
- See live departure information
- Find tickets
- Sign in to your Swift account
- Collect credit and tickets to your Swift card
You can download the TfWM app from:
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