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Monthly archives: January 2023

Heartbeat: SWB to launch digital library service for patients

 

Our library service will be launching an exciting new digital library service this year called Books on Wards: Read…Listen…Recover

Initially the service will be run as a three-month pilot on two of our Sandwell based wards – Lyndon 4 and Newton 4.

“Though we are starting out initially with two wards we hope to roll out the project across the whole Sandwell site and eventually across the Trust if it proves successful and we have resources in place to do so, said Stacey Richards, Assistant Librarian.

“Though all our wards will benefit from the project, we thought a good place to start would be our stroke and cardiology wards.

“We are currently awaiting equipment needed for the Books on Wards project and are in the process of training of our ward volunteers but once this is sorted, we will be ready to go ahead with the pilot.”

Books on Wards will give patients the ability to access both eBooks and eAudiobooks via an app called BorrowBox. Within the app there is a vast suite of genres from adult fiction, non-fiction, autobiographies, and general interest as well as a large collection of titles suitable for children and adolescents.

Preeti Puligari, Library and Knowledge Services Manager believes Books on Wards will enhance the patient experience at SWB.

The Trust volunteers will play a big role in educating the patients on how to access the eBooks and eAudiobooks on the iPads, kindly provided by our wonderful informatics team.

As part of this project, the volunteers will be trained by the library staff on how to use the BorrowBox app and made aware of a list of accredited websites that the patients can browse to learn more about their health condition. Following their stay on the ward, the patients could also be referred to the Black Country Connected programme and if they met the criteria, they will be given access to a Geobook laptop to continue using the health resources and BorrowBox at home.

Preeti said: “Prior to the Books on Wards project, patients had limited access to entertainment depending on the ward.

“We hope that the service will improve the wellbeing of our patients which will only, in turn enhance recovery by preventing boredom when on the ward. This service will also increase the health and digital literacy of our patients and when discharged, they can continue to enjoy access to their favourite books from home.”

Preeti is keen that when patients are discharged that they still have access to the service as reading is a great source of exercise for the brain and can also improve focus and help reduce stress.

She added: “If patients wish to continue using the BorrowBox app after leaving our hospital, they can join the Sandwell public libraries where they will be provided with their own BorrowBox accounts.

To find out more about the Books on Wards project, please email swbh.library@nhs.net.

Do you want to influence health and social care in Sandwell?

 

Healthwatch Sandwell are hosting a series of workshops in Sandwell giving attendees the opportunity to have their say and influence the future of health and social care in the borough.

The next session is taking place on Wednesday 18 January, 12pm – 2pm at Tipton Muslim Community Centre.

Lunch will be provided and a British Sign Language interpreter will be available.

For further details please see your health and social care services in Sandwell flyer.

If you would like to book a place please email info@healthwatchsandwell.co.uk or call 07732 683463.

Have you completed your NHS Quarterly Pulse survey?

 

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.

Every colleague is being given the opportunity to have their say and the survey data is shared with our Trust Board, who hold us to account for how we respond.

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.

If you work in portering, ward/domestic services, transport services, catering, Sandwell Nursery and decommissioning and environmental you will have received paper copies.

The quarterly survey is being administered by Quality Health, on behalf of SWB so your responses are strictly confidential and will be handled in accordance with current data protection legislation, GDPR and following the principles of the NHS Confidentiality Code of Practice. No personal data will be passed back to the Trust that could result in anyone being identified.

Note: The survey will close on Tuesday 31 January.

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.

SWB benefits portal scheduled downtime until Friday

 

The SWB benefits portal has been taken offline for essential maintenance until Friday 13 January.

During this time, you will not be able to access or activate your account.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Once a Midwife, always a Midwife – are you ready to be someone’s first ‘hello’ once again?

 

If you are thinking about returning to midwifery in the NHS and want to know more about how to take those first steps, the NHS can support you.

A career in midwifery can be emotionally and professionally rewarding and there are plenty of practical benefits, including some you may not have experienced before:

One of the most generous pension schemes in the UK.

  • Flexible working and opportunities to work part-time, helping to create a balance that suits you.
  • At least 27 days holiday a year plus public holidays, and a standard working week of 37.5 hours.
  • Additional support for professional development, helping you to feel confidence in your skills and achieve your career goals.
  • A great emphasis on working in multidisciplinary teams, allowing you to work with experts from many different departments.

Recent investment in pastoral care, education, training, and leadership and career development means the right support is in place for you personally and professionally, allowing opportunities for you to progress in your career and to thrive in the NHS.

You can find more information about returning to midwifery at https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/midwifery/returning-midwifery.

If you are interested in returning, all you need to do is complete the simple registration form and your recruitment lead will contact you to guide you through the next steps.

Booking patients for transport during industrial action affecting West Midlands Ambulance Service – 11 January

 

On Wednesday 11 January colleagues on wards should follow the same process for booking patients for transport whilst West Midlands Ambulance Service continue their industrial action.  We will continue using West Midlands Ambulance Service for patient transport. All inter hospital transfers should carry on as normal.

If demand for this overtakes capacity, some patient transport support is available by calling 07814 365205. To use this you must:

  1. Ensure you provide full details of the patient requiring transport (Name, RXK)
  2. Ensure you detail their destination address correctly
  3. Detail the patient’s mobility

The booking service phone line will be open from 8am till 6pm on the 11 January.

Patients must be ready to travel at the time of booking – Drivers will wait a maximum of 5 minutes and then abort the journey if patients are not ready to be transported. 

Patients we can transport:

  1. Walking patients (they must not be infectious)
  2. Wheelchair patients who have easy access in to their property with no steps that would prevent a wheelchair entering
  3. Transfers to nursing homes and/or community beds where the nursing staff can support the patient to transfer from wheelchair to bed/chair
  4. We have one vehicle that can support stretcher patients.

There will be some patients that we cannot support:

  1. We cannot take complex patients
  2. We cannot take out of area patients
  3. We cannot take plus size patients
  4. We cannot take patients who have home access issues
  5. We cannot support patients who require equipment to transfer from wheelchair to a bed/chair
  6. We cannot carry/take equipment or large amounts of luggage – this will need to be booked separately via GTS on ext. 3869 option 4
  7. We cannot carry electric wheelchairs
  8. We cannot transport any infectious patients

For further information, advice and guidance on booking transport for patients during the industrial action, please contact 07814 365205

Birmingham Health Partners seminar: 24 January

 

Professor Lucy Chappell will be joining Birmingham Health Partners for the next seminar series where she will talk about maximising the impact of health and care research in the UK. The event is free for all to attend. The event will be taking place on Tuesday 24 January, 4pm – 5.30pm at Lloyd Suite, Edgbaston Park Hotel, 53 Edgbaston Park Rd, Birmingham B15 2RS.

To register and find out more please click here.

Cost of living champions training: 11 January

 

Sandwell Council are offering a cost of living champions digital training session aimed at residents living in Sandwell who are concerned about the cost of living and how they can be assisted in accessing support. The training specifically is being delivered by representatives from Welfare Rights and Citizens Advice on Wednesday 11 January, 10am – 11am.

To join the session please click here.

Critical incident stood down: Now at escalation level 4

 

This afternoon we have taken the decision to stand down our internal critical incident status, however we remain at operational escalation level 4.

Whilst this is a positive development, our hospital sites remain under significant pressure, and it is imperative that we continue to take all necessary actions to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our patients.

Our command and control structures remain in place. If you have any questions or concerns please raise these directly with your managers or tactical leads.

Please continue to support the range of actions listed below that are focussed on helping us to continue to safely manage the flow of patients within our hospitals and into the community.

Supporting patients with timely discharges

Please continue to consider why every single patient needs to be in hospital and what we can do to safely support them to get home or to a community facility.

As soon as someone no longer requires hospital-based intervention it is usually a greater risk to keep them in hospital than to discharge them.

Our community services offer a range of health and care interventions to support discharge, for example:

  • IV antibiotics
  • Oxygen weaning
  • Nebuliser care
  • Remote monitoring
  • Blood tests and associated medication changes

If people need care packages at home, temporary or permanent placements to a care home or end of life care, there are a number of options in the community.

The Integrated Discharge Hub on ext 3147 will offer advice and support for all patients with No Criteria To Reside (NCTR – previously known as “medically fit”).

If a patient is not yet medically optimised we may be able to continue their medical treatment and monitoring in the community. Please consider our consultant led, community delivered virtual wards. If you have any patients who may be suitable, please contact 2664 (option 4) to discuss.

During every board round and safety huddle please ask the following questions for the MDT to consider:

  1. Why is this person in hospital? Why not home and why not today?
  2. What treatment is this person receiving? Could this be continued at home?
  3. What investigations are they waiting for? Why can’t they be done as an outpatient?
  4. Why are we re-checking blood tests? Will this change our care or treatment? Why can’t this be done in the community?
  5. Is this person waiting to see a therapist or specialist team? Why can’t this be done in the community?

If this person is medically optimised (NCTR) why are they still in an acute bed? – call the Integrated Discharge Hub for support and advice on ext 3147

 

COVID-19 / Flu Isolation and Swabbing Reminder

Please ensure we are swabbing patients correctly so that we can prevent outbreaks and reduce the risks of further transmission.

On Admission

Patients should only be swabbed for COVID-19 and flu if they are symptomatic or are clinically vulnerable.

Clinically vulnerable patients are those with any of the following conditions:

  • Down’s syndrome
  • Certain types of cancer (such as a blood cancer like leukaemia or lymphoma)
  • Sickle cell disease
  • Chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage 4 or 5
  • Severe liver disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Had an organ or bone marrow transplant
  • Autoimmune or inflammatory conditions (such as rheumatoid arthritis or inflammatory bowel disease)
  • HIV or AIDS and have a weakened immune system
  • A condition affecting the immune system
  • Conditions affecting the brain or nerves (multiple sclerosis, motor neurone disease, Huntington’s disease or myasthenia gravis)
  • Severe or multiple learning disabilities
  • A weakened immune system due to a medical treatment (such as steroid medicine, biological therapy, chemotherapy or radiotherapy)

During admission

Please swab any patient who develops clinical symptoms of flu and COVID-19 immediately using a PCR test.

Discharges

Any patients being discharged to care homes must have a COVID-19 PCR test carried out no more than 48 hours before discharge.

Any patients being transferred to Rowley Regis Hospital must have a Lateral Flow Test (LFT) completed prior to transfer.

COVID-19 step down of positive patients

Positive patients should be swabbed daily using Lateral Flow Test (LFT) from day 4 (Day 0 is the date the first +VE swab was taken)

Following two consecutive negative results, 24hrs apart and no temperature a patient can be stepped down from isolation.

When completing a LFT please ensure that the correct Powerform is completed within Unity.

Flu step down of positive patients

During normal working (EMS Level 1/2) Isolation can be stepped down at day 7 if the patient is asymptomatic.

When the Trust is under severe pressure (EMS Level 3 and above) patients can be stepped down from isolation on day 5.

For more information, please call ext. 5900 or email swb-tr.SWBH-Team-InfectionControl@nhs.net

 

Mask wearing is now mandatory in all clinical areas

Mask wearing is required in all clinical areas of the Trust for staff, patients and visitors.

Clinical areas include:

  • All inpatient wards – acute and community
  • All outpatient areas
  • A&E
  • Theatres
  • Imaging departments
  • Maternity
  • Home visits

All clinical buildings including at main entrances and public areas

 

Alternatives to emergency departments

As we continue to be busy across our emergency care services, so it’s important that patients are aware of the alternative ways to seek medical help.

This can be done by calling into their local pharmacy, dialling NHS 111, contacting their GP, or going to an urgent care centre.

We operate an Urgent Treatment Centre at Sandwell Hospital and patients at City are able to attend the Urgent Care Centre at Heath Street, in Birmingham. Most GP practices are also offering weekend access.

We would urge you to share this information with family and friends. Click here to see more.

Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 6 January

 

This week, Richard’s weekly message is a short film.

It explains:

  • The current pressures we are experiencing within our Trust
  • What the triggers have been to put us at critical incident level
  • The actions we are taking to keep people safe and continue caring for patients

Colleagues are working extremely hard, above and beyond, to enable patients to be discharged safely, with the right support, to community facilities or back home.

There are still further opportunities to move our discharges earlier in the day and shorten people’s stay in hospital, which is often not the best place for them if they are medical well.

A lot of changes are taking place, and more are planned, in communities within our own Trust services and with partners. These are essential for our current service provision, and also a vital part of the Midland Met care model.

The whole Trust and care system needs to respond every day to ensure safe and optimal patient care. By being aware of what is going on at the front door and knowing what you can do to help we will be able to improve the experience of patients and reduce the frequency of these extreme pressure levels.

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