Skip to content Skip to main menu Skip to utility menu

Monthly archives: February 2023

NHS75 – Be part of the celebration

 

As we prepare to mark our 75th anniversary, we are looking for colleagues who are keen to share their big ideas for the day itself. We are already working with our local media on providing stories of inspirational staff who embody all that we stand for and are always looking for newsworthy stories to tell. If you would like to be part of a new group that is coming together to plan how we mark the event, please email vanya.rogers@nhs.net to express your interest.

We are looking at themes including technology, sustainability, the next 75 years, the changing roles within the NHS and the central role that research plays in the NHS, however we are open to all ideas which we believe we could deliver effectively.

Alongside our NHS75 celebrations, we are also keen to mark Windrush, as a pivotal point in our history and integral to the formation of the NHS.

Find out about our AHPs on Connect

 

Our allied health professionals (AHPs) have recently redeveloped their Connect pages – you can access their pages by clicking here.

Did you know, at SWB we nine different types of AHP:

  1. Occupational therapists
  2. Physiotherapists
  3. Speech and language therapists
  4. Dietitians
  5. Podiatrists
  6. Operating department practitioners
  7. Orthoptists
  8. Orthotists
  9. Diagnostic radiographers

Should you need to contact a particular part of the service, please see relevant contacts below:

 

welearn Wednesday: Incidents reported that relate to incivility

 

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 reported, HR investigations and complaints that have identified a greater need to understand the impact that incivility has on us as people: our desire to come to work and importantly the impact on patient safety and experiences of care when we are not civil with each other.

For more information please see welearn February newsletter.

If you would like to be involved in the welearn user reference group, please email marsha.jones3@nhs.net

Essential West Midlands Ambulance Service EPR maintenance: 27 February

 

Please be aware West Midlands Ambulance Service are carrying out an essential maintenance to their Electronic Patient Record system on Monday 27 February 6am – 12pm.

The system is mainly used by our Trust ED, cardiology departments and maternity departments and our WMAS partner has advised that affected leads have been informed in advance.

From 6am on Monday 27 February WMAS will stop any new users from accessing their system; however, any pending actions via the night shifts will be able to complete as normal before finishing duty.

The updates require both the application and the portal to be offline so any patient records/handover will be completed on paper. The system should be back online by mid to late morning.

A message has been added to the log on screen advising of the pending maintenance. This can be accessed via Connect under the Safe Triage icon which will take colleagues to the EPR2 Web Login (wmas.nhs.uk). 

Should you have any queries on this then please contact epr@wmas.nhs.uk or 01384 457777 directly.

FIT testing session: 22 March

 

As you may be aware, FIT testing is now a national competency on ESR, and colleagues that want to have the competency will need to be signed off by a accredited FIT testers. The first session will be held on Wednesday 22 March, 9am – 1pm in the old security bungalow at City. To book onto this training session please email scott.shenton@nhs.net. Note: This training session will also cover training for FIT testers.

More appointments available for FIT testing – book in on ESR:

Due to an increase in demand for fit testing, there have been more appointments made available for colleagues. In the first instance appointments should be made using the ESR portal.

  • Log onto ESR and search for ‘fit testing’ under ‘my learning’ and book an appointment to be fit tested
  • FIT testing is a mandatory role specific requirement
  • FIT Testing is held in the Old Security Bungalow, City Hospital

For a step by step booking guide, follow the instructions here: Booking your Fit Test.

Note: If you book an appointment for FIT Testing via ESR you will only become compliant on your mandatory training if you attend the appointment.

For those that cannot access ESR, or for ad-hoc appointments on the day please contact one of the colleagues listed below:

  • Kristian Burgoyne – 07977687526
  • Qamar Zaman – 07977687571
  • Scott Shenton – 07866007539

Heartbeat: Leaders assemble to agree regeneration plans to boost health

 

The Midland Metropolitan University Hospital (MMUH) is the largest new hospital development currently under construction in the English NHS making it a catalyst for regeneration in Sandwell and West Birmingham.

To ensure all partners capitalise on that fact, notable public sector leaders from across the area met recently to agree the strategy to maximise the potential of the opportunity that MMUH offers.

The session focussed on how the MMUH can contribute to wider economic and social regeneration of the surrounding area, thereby creating a positive benefit to the long-term health of the local population.

Chaired by Sir David Nicholson KBE, Trust Chair, the event was attended by Andy Street, WM Mayor; the leader, and senior officers of Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council; members and officers from Birmingham City Council; the CEOs of the two NHS Integrated Care Boards that the Trust serves; Transport for West Midlands and senior officers of the Trust.

Speaking following the meeting Sir David explained: “Our new hospital is due to open in 2024 and already we have ensured local employment opportunities on the build, with many more to come. We know that access to jobs and improving economic conditions creates better health outcomes for local populations, so we have always been committed to ensuring the MMUH delivers both on improved wealth and health.”

Richard Beeken, CEO continued: “Our Trust’s purpose is about improving life chances and health outcomes, not just treating the sick, and we’re going to do that through delivering three objectives around Patients, People and Population. The MMUH offers opportunities to deliver on all three objectives, getting the fundamentals of care right, providing the best environment for our people to deliver their best care in and giving our population access to a facility and wider impact that is designed to add life to years, not just years to life.”

All partners have signed up to a common statement of intent which declares: “The partners agree to collaborate to deliver improved health and well-being via a programme of initiatives and regeneration projects which will lead to improved life chances and a consequential reduction in inequality for our respective populations”.

Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “This is a truly exciting development with a forward thinking vision that brings together health, education and the arts all in one place. The acute hospital building will sit alongside a university campus and accessible outdoor public spaces hosting wellbeing activities will complement a substantial arts programme that is already underway. By working together in this innovative and cross-sector manner, we will be able to change the lives of local people for the better in the months and years ahead. I cannot wait to see this project come to fruition and make a real difference.”

Take Time to Look After Yourself programme

 

Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust are hosting a ‘Take Time to Look After Yourself’ programme of monthly webinars to benefit the wellbeing of staff working across the Black Country ICS. Our next session in March will focus on “I can’t get no sleep” and the “just eat” culture.

These sessions will be delivered by Principal Clinical Psychologist Dr Nicola Rose and will explore:

  • How sleep and food is so important to both mental and physical wellbeing
  • What should we be doing when we can’t sleep or wake up in the middle of the night
  • Why we crave certain foods in times of stress and busyness
  • Realistic strategies for incorporating the right foods into busy lives

Click here for Monday 6 March, 1pm – 2.30pm session.

Click here for Tuesday 14 March, 6pm – 7.30pm session.

For further details please email samuel.skelding1@nhs.net.

Sandwell Health and Care Partnership: Winter 2022/23 newsletter

 

Sandwell Health and Care Partnership have released their quarterly newsletter which shares the latest news and updates from Sandwell Health and Care Partnership.

To check out the latest newsletter, please see SHCP Winter 2022-23 Newsletter.

Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 17 February

 

Daren Fradgley, Deputy Chief Executive (Richard Beeken is away)

For this week’s message I’d like to focus on the value of partnerships. You all know that SWB is in the unique position of being one of only six NHS trusts in the country that sit directly across two integrated care systems. We sit in both the Black Country and Birmingham and Solihull systems, which brings its own benefits and challenges in the way we manage the relationships with partners.

It is fair to say that our relationship with the Black Country is far more established even more so now that we have a key role in leading and driving provision and delivery of care in Sandwell Place. As part of my integration portfolio, it is important that our work and relationships with Birmingham and Solihull (BSol) are just as strong as they are in the Black Country.

It is clear that the offer to West Birmingham is different to that in Sandwell. West Birmingham has more stakeholders, and the alignment of the system is not yet clear. However, whilst the way we work with the partners may differ, the service to our populations must be the same. Our aim therefore is to create real momentum to deliver this offer to the West Birmingham population before Midland Met opens.

In primary care, we have created an alliance with 74 GP practices in West Birmingham which involve us assisting them with the delivery of their quality standards through best practice sharing.

We will also provide them with formalised support for back office and leadership – all to be funded by the practices themselves. In return, they will work with the Trust to look at a partnership approach and the management of patients with long term conditions. This partnership will move to a more preventative management of medium to long term conditions so we are able to reduce attendances and admissions.

A final opportunity with primary care is to build a relationship that is so integrated that the need to refer between primary and secondary care is seamless and without delays.

In the last two weeks, we have met the exec team at Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Trust (BCH). We have shared community service models in areas such as urgent community response, integration on the front door, admission avoidance, and care navigation. Whilst BCH already have some of these services, it’s openly recognised that the visibility of them in our Trust is very poor. We have formally agreed with BCH to mirror our services and theirs as closely as possible. There is also a renewed focus on Ladywood and Perry Barr which will result in a plan that we expect to not be too dissimilar to that of Sandwell. It is also encouraging to see high levels of commitment from partners such as BCH, BSol, the Mental Health Trust, Birmingham City Council and third sector, to work collaboratively to manage demand and safely open the Midland Met.

Finally, one of the key components of our length of stay programme is the deployment of virtual wards. At SWB we currently have 40 beds open and this will now grow rapidly as new colleagues come onboard over the next two months to help create an additional 100 beds. We are also working in partnership with BCH and University Hospitals Birmingham to ensure our model is seamless with that in BSol. You will have your part to play in identifying patients early enough to be discharged on to virtual wards to reduce length of stay and the associated staffing pressures. As a general guide our virtual wards are currently only 50 per cent utilised and we have more capacity to offer. The virtual ward teams will be reaching out to all wards in the coming weeks to encourage you to get involved.

More appointments now available for FIT testing – book in on ESR

 

Due to an increase in demand for fit testing, there have been more appointments made available for colleagues. In the first instance appointments should be made using the ESR portal.

  • Log onto ESR and search for ‘fit testing’ under ‘my learning’ and book an appointment to be fit tested
  • FIT testing is a mandatory role specific requirement
  • FIT Testing is held in the Old Security Bungalow, City Hospital

For a step by step booking guide, follow the instructions here: Booking your Fit Test

Note: If you book an appointment for FIT Testing via ESR you will only become compliant on your mandatory training if you attend the appointment.

For those that cannot access ESR, or for ad-hoc appointments on the day please contact one of the colleagues listed below:

  • Kristian Burgoyne – 07977687526
  • Qamar Zaman – 07977687571
  • Scott Shenton – 07866007539
← Older items Newer items →