Monthly archives: February 2023

Latest edition of Heartbeat now available!

The latest edition of Heartbeat is now available! This month, you can learn about the NHS’s new Gloves Off campaign, which encourages colleagues to consider their use of gloves and explains how this could in fact be spreading germs around the hospital environment. We’ve also spoken to Katie Gillam-Price, the new vice chair of the LGBT+ network, who has explained why she went for the role and what her aims are.

Recruitment has been a big topic in recent months, and this month we’ve outlined what the Trust is doing to attract new candidates to the organisation. Happy reading!

Cancer wellbeing fair: 1 July – seeking volunteers

SWB will be hosting its annual cancer wellbeing fair at Walsall Football Club on Saturday 1 July. It’s a unique event that provides opportunity for 350 SWB patients and a family members to celebrate where they are on their pathway.

The cancer service is seeking the following types of volunteers:

• Local entertainers (dance groups, choir or soloists)
• Therapists (reiki, hand, head and arm massage)
• Nail, henna and beauty skills
• Flower arranging
• Yoga practitioners

If you are interested in volunteering please email jennifer.donovan@nhs.net or ian.charles@nhs.net or call 0121 507 2776/2525.

Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 24 February

Midland Met Focus:

Delivery of the MMUH programme continues to progress well. When we set up the Midland Met programme company in October 2022, we established governance arrangements to ensure that a third of our public Trust board and Trust Management Committee meetings were focused on the preparation for the new hospital and community services transformation. In light of this, I have committed to focusing a third of my Friday messages to Midland Met so that, alongside all the regular communications activity around the new hospital, my Friday message can also become a source of news and updates.

It was a pleasure to meet local residents this week at the George Dixon Academy School. We were able to share information about the hospital development with them, but, more importantly, to listen to them about their questions, concerns and ideas for how they can be better involved and informed. This meeting was one of three that we are holding over the next few weeks, focused on those people who live within one mile of the new hospital site. It was very well attended, and we are asked many questions.  Being a good neighbour is a priority to us and we cannot underestimate the impact of the many years of building work that has been taking place in close proximity to houses and local businesses.

A few weeks ago I wrote about the planning we were doing to engage with partners across the Black Country and Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Systems about Midland Met. I am really pleased to share the positive response we have had from those key stakeholders, all of whom recognise the significance of the new hospital, the impact it will have on our patients, people and population, and the need for support as we progress towards opening. Without exception, all partners can see how the new hospital will support improved care for our patients, as well as contribute to the strategies and objectives of the health and care systems.

At the start of the year all of you were invited to spend a few minutes completing the quarterly Pulse staff survey. As you know, this is a requirement on all NHS Trusts and is a really valuable tool for us in understanding how you feel about your job and our organisation. For the first time, we included two questions relating to the new hospital. It is reassuring to see from the results that 90% of you are aware of the new hospital. In terms of the impact of Midland Met on your role and service, the understanding is not so high. This is something we will be working to address as we continue to share updates about the development, and importantly, how your role can contribute to the safe opening of the hospital in 2024.

If you want to know more then do look at the regular information that is shared through the new internal newsletter that was first published last Friday, our Connect Midland Met pages or our social media accounts. Where you have questions and concerns please let us know by emailing swbh.mmuh@nhs.net. We will continue to publish regular FAQs and will let you know if we don’t know the answers just yet.

Thank you for all you are doing to find out about the new hospital and prepare for changes within your team and service. Your future work base may not be at the new hospital but the opportunities it provides to transform services for the better will impact on us all and we need to make time to get ready.

Change to thickener products for supporting patients with swallowing difficulties

We have moved to a new brand of thickener powder to support patients with swallowing difficulties.

This decision was taken to align with the thickener product already widely used by all of our community services and the wider Black Country Integrated Care System. Quality and safety of patient care in the transition between hospital and home settings will improve and risk of dosing errors will also reduce with this product alignment.

The Nutilis Clear porduct has been replaced by Nestle’s Resource Thicken Up Clear – please see Nutilis Nestle information sheet for details.

Note: Ward level training on how to use the new product will be provided for all wards on all sites. Should you need details in regards to mixing the new product, please see mixing guide sheet.

For more information please email Lucy.Wood27@nhs.net.

Travel to work awareness stand at the BTC this Monday

We will be hosting a ‘travel to work‘ awareness stand at in the BTC on Monday 27 February, 11.30am – 1.30pm where colleagues can pop along and get support and advice about travelling to and from work. This will include how to access discounted local bus travel, free personalised travel planning, cycle and walking routes and advice, car sharing support, free give-aways, and much more.

For more information please email francesca.silcocks@nhs.net.

Issues accessing patient documents via CSS/CDA

We are currently experiencing an ongoing issue when trying to access patient documents via CSS/CDA.

A quick guide is now available that instructs colleagues on how to setup their browser to allow access to CSS/CDA documents.

As you may be aware, our informatics team have been working on this issue since Microsoft retired Internet Explorer as they could no longer protect it from cyber-attacks. The team are in the final stages of testing the updated CSS/CDA and are managing it as a Severe Service Disruption. Once all has been resolved, colleagues will be notified.

As always, should you have any further queries then please do contact the IT Service Desk on ext. 4050 or 0121 507 4050 for home workers or via  chat with the IT service desk.

Heartbeat: Maternity welcomes international midwives from shores afar

Building up our workforce through recruitment, education and training has been one of the key focuses within our maternity department over the past year.

And earlier this month, a celebration event was held for international midwives who’ve joined the team and have since gained Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) registration, thanks to their hard work and commitment.

The programme will eventually see a total of 20 midwives joining us, as Jade Hellier, Deputy Head of Midwifery, who is leading the drive explained: “This has been an excellent way in recruiting into the profession, which can sometimes be difficult to do.

“As we know there is a national shortage of midwives and by developing a robust training programme for international midwives, we are able to build up our workforce with candidates who are enthusiastic and keen to join us.

“They are qualified in their own country, but they have to go through a training process to ensure they can practice in the UK and gain entry to the NMC professional register.” Jade has worked with the midwifery education team to come up with a learning package which has so far produced a 100 per cent pass rate.

The midwives start at band 4 level and have to sit a number of tests, including an English exam and what is known as an OSCE – a competency test, before progressing to band 5 once they pass all required exams. The midwifery team then support the midwives through a competency package to aid their progression to band 6 over a 12-18 month period.

On arrival to the UK the education team support the midwives with 23 hours of study each week, broken down into 7.5 hours structured teaching, and 7.5 hours of self-directed study each week. They also spend three days in a clinical area shadowing a midwife.

Sarah Ifoga, one of the midwives, said: “I came to the UK in June last year. I’ve always wanted to work with an organisation that prioritises patient care in order to give them better experiences. I did my research and found this Trust was the best place to be for this, so I’m thrilled to be here.

“I’ve been developing well here and I’m happy with the level of exposure to practice. It’s helping me build my confidence and professional skills.”

Jade added: “It’s a really intensive programme but we have already seen great results. Five midwives who joined us in May have now qualified, whilst nine came to us in November and are working towards the same goal. We will have a further six joining us to make up the 20 places in late January.

“Each individual has shown true dedication and commitment to the role and we are honoured to have them within our team.”

Jade continued: “Our success hasn’t gone unnoticed and we have shared our learning package with the Local Maternity and Neonatal System (LMNS) which brings together midwifery colleagues from across the neighbouring Trusts.”

Heartbeat: SWB invest in new state-of-the-art lithotripter machine

The Trust has recently invested in a state-of-the-art lithotripter machine at Sandwell Hospital to treat patients with urinary tract stones.

SWB has expanded its urology stone service by investing in an in-house lithotripter – a treatment using shock waves through which kidney stones are broken into small pieces that can then be passed in the urine.

The key to the success of the lithotripsy service at SWB is the strength of the urology team that supports it. This includes clinical lead Mr Sami and the stone surgeons; Mr Khan, Mr Otite, Mr Ahmad and Mr Dhanasekaran, as well as our dedicated stone clinical nurse specialist Ms Yna Dela Rosa and the dedicated radiography team.

The STORZ Medical X-FP-S lithotripter machine primarily is used to break up kidney stones. Lithotripsy itself is a low risk, non-invasive way of treating stones in the kidney or ureter (the tube between your kidney and bladder) where shockwaves are focused through the skin, onto the stone, using x-ray or ultrasound to target them.

The overall aim of using the equipment is to weaken the structure of the stone, eventually enabling it to break into very small pieces so it can be passed easily through urine.

Consultant Urological Surgeon, Mr Fahd Khan believes the X-FP-S Lithotripter will prove valuable for our patients.

He said: “It’s a fantastic piece of equipment which will provide us with patient benefits for years to come. It has greater accuracy and power than previous models, and as it produces less radiation it is much better for patients.

“This will benefit our patients massively as it will result in us providing timely and effective treatment especially for emergency admissions. In addition, the machine has an array of benefits including high fragmentation efficiency, high precision stone localization, in-line x-ray localisation, minimum side effects for anyone who uses it and lower operating costs.”

Prior to investing the equipment, SWB were using an external company that used to bring a lithotripter on a truck. This would be manually set up and used to treat patients on the day of their treatment. It would then be dismantled; taken away and brought back again and is not as cost effective as owning our own lithotripter.

The lithotripter will also play a key role in Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) strategy, an NHS programme designed to improve the quality of care within the NHS by reducing unwarranted variation. By tackling variation in the way services are delivered across the NHS, and by sharing best practice between trusts, GIRFT identifies changes that will help improve care and patient outcomes, as well as delivering efficiencies such as the reduction of unnecessary procedures and cost savings.

“In essence, it is one of the GIRFT recommendations that acute lithotripsy is a modality that should be available to treat patients when admitted into hospital as an emergency,” said Fahd.

“Our previous mobile service provided by an external company only treated patients a few times a month but the on-site machine will provide acute management of stone patients across the Black Country and will treat patients from Dudley and New Cross hospitals as part of our urology area network.

Fahd added: “As part of our long-term vision for the service, the STORZ Medical X-FP-S lithotripter will also move across to the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital which is scheduled to open in 2024.”

Heartbeat: Agewell hospital shop benefits older people across Sandwell

Did you know that when you buy something from the Agewell Shop, located at the entrance to the outpatients’ department at Sandwell Hospital, you are also helping support older people across the borough?

Agewell is a Sandwell-based, social enterprise which since 1997 has been delivering services to help local, older people to stay healthier and enjoy a better quality of life. As a Community Interest Company, any profits made are reinvested to enable more local, older people to be supported.

Agewell Services Manager, Pauline Withey runs the shop along with other staff members and a team of volunteers.

“Our volunteers are amazing,” says Pauline. “Two of the five currently working with us have been here since April 2016 when we first opened our doors and I can’t speak highly enough about them and their dedication. We are like one big family supporting each other – and we are always looking for other volunteers to join us, so please come forward if you think this may be something you’d like to do.”

The shop is open Monday to Friday and is popular with staff, patients and relatives who want to pick up a quick drink, snack or newspaper. Prior to Covid, a trolley round also took place daily and it is hoped this will start again soon.

Donations of quality second hand items, including books, are received regularly and are always welcome. Sandwell Libraries have recently donated some of their obsolete paperback books which are very popular. Most books sell for 50p and many are bought and donated back to the shop several times. Children’s toys, crockery, coats and other second hand clothes don’t hang around for long either, so pop in regularly and you could pick up a bargain!

There’s often a good selection of hand knitted items on sale too thanks to a local housebound lady and her neighbour who get pleasure from knitting the baby bonnets, cardigans, gloves and hats. Online charity, Textiles Satkaar Group, also donates baby sets which are knitted and crocheted by ladies who chat via Zoom to overcome their feelings of isolation.

The shop is also home to the popular Sapphire Service which Agewell delivers in partnership with the West Bromwich African Caribbean Resource Centre. This service is an integral part of the integrated discharge hub at the hospital and provides up to six weeks of support for older patients leaving hospital to help prevent their readmission. It’s run from the office at the shop and receives around 25 new cases every week. Look out for staff in their eye-catching green t-shirts and hoodies.

A new addition to the service over the past 12 months has been the supply of emergency food parcels which are put together in the shop for patients being discharged from hospital who might not have carers visiting until the following day. A typical parcel includes a loaf of bread, cheese, butter, milk and biscuits as well as some tinned and packet items.

“Our hospital shop really is a hive of activity,” concludes Pauline. “Thank you to everyone who supports us with their custom and donations.”

Black Country Women’s Aid International Women’s Day dinner: 8 March

Black Country Women’s Aid are hosting a special dinner event on Wednesday 8 March, 6.45pm – 11pm at Memoirs Banqueting, 2 Bradford Place, Walsall, WS1 1PL to celebrate International Women’s Day.

Tickets are only £20 and all money raised from the event will go towards supporting their  therapeutic/counselling service. Black Country Women’s Aid support survivors who have suffered domestic violence and abuse, rape, and sexual exploitation. From helping them navigate the criminal justice system, to providing counselling, they support them to deal with trauma, understand and accept feelings and ultimately help victims rebuild their lives.

To purchase a ticket or find out more, please click here.