Monthly archives: March 2023
Step into Spring with Your Trust Charity at the Great Birmingham Run
Come and get involved in our two big fundraising events this spring, the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge on 8th April and the Great Birmingham Run on 7th May.
Join in with the fun and help raise funds for the new Midland Metropolitan University Hospital campaign and much needed patient facing services and support Your Trust Charity.
There are adult places available on the half marathon and 10k routes. There are also junior (2.5km) and mini (1.5km) routes available for children (3-15 years old). Registration fees range from £14.00 – £41.00.
To participate in these upcoming events please email trustcharity@nhs.net for details on how to purchase your place by Friday 28th April. Although no fundraising target is required, we would kindly ask participants to set up a free JustGiving page to help us make Midland Met more than a hospital – and Your Trust Charity’s team will support you with your fundraising every step of the way!
Message from Mel Roberts, Chief Nursing Officer – NHS England/Improvement visit outcome
Dear colleagues,
I am delighted to inform you that following the recent NHS England / Improvement visit which focused on infection control practices, we have achieved the equivalent of ‘Green’ status. This is a fantastic achievement, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for your hard work and dedication in maintaining our high standards of infection control.
Although there were still some issues identified during the visit, the inspectors were impressed with our ability to understand and manage our risks. They felt that we all shared the same commitment to infection control, from ward to board, and that we had a good grip on the situation.
We will receive the formal report in the next few weeks, and we will develop an action plan with colleagues to address any issues that have been identified. We also need to keep up the momentum as we have a maintenance visit scheduled in 6 – 9 months, which will be a challenging one. Therefore, we need to ensure that we continue to work hard and maintain our high standards to keep our green status.
I am proud to say that the inspectors noted a positive change in our staff, who were no longer defensive but proud of their work. This is a testament to the hard work that has been put in by everyone to maintain our standards.
Please share this message with your teams and thank them for their help, support and hard work in achieving this milestone. Let us continue to work together to ensure that we continue to maintain our green status for infection control.
Thank you once again for your commitment to providing excellent care to our patients.
Mel Roberts
Chief Nursing Officer
Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 3 March
As we move towards the opening of our new hospital next year it is a time to act and be seen as the vibrant and progressive Trust we are. Essential to doing this is for all colleagues to unite behind our new branding based on our three objectives – Patients – People – Population, underpinned by our three Trust Values – Ambition – Respect – Compassion.
The first step to doing this is to ensure you update your branded templates and embrace the new ones our colleagues in medical illustration have designed.
You’ll have seen a link to a shared online resource in the comms bulletin – access here – click on the first link titled Medical Illustration Resources. This is where you can easily find and use approved templates for everything from your email signature to PowerPoint templates and even current posters. The resource is updated as new content is approved, so the rule of thumb is that anything held here is good to use and must replace all other, out of date branding such as ‘Where Everyone Matters’ and ‘Nine Care Promises’. If you are looking for a template that is not currently online, please contact the communications team on swbh.comms@nhs.net or the medical illustration team on swbh.miprint@nhs.net
Please do not be tempted to design your own hybrid designs as that can impact the value of our brand. To be clear, the only design work that should be underway must be routed through our medical illustration team. This is to ensure we comply with NHS brand rules. With the advent of design programmes across many social media platforms and apps it can be easy to consider self-design as a shortcut to producing artwork, however it is not appropriate or acceptable to risk damaging our image in this way.
We are currently looking at our recruitment ambition branding which is being updated and will be added in the coming months, if you have a need for this material in the meantime, please contact medical illustration for advice.
There is a programme of work to replace branding on the major poster sites across the Trust, including the wall on entrance to Sandwell, the front of the BTC and glass balustrading inside. Obviously, all our new posters and designed material will adopt the same brand to ensure a uniform look and feel. And on this point, I would like to reiterate that fly posting of posters is strictly prohibited across all our sites. There is nothing more off putting and unwelcoming to visitors to our sites to be greeted with a motley display of disparate and aging posters of indeterminate origin and it is one of the quickest ways for visitors to form a negative snap judgement of the services we provide. We must have more pride in our environment and notwithstanding the fact that in some cases we are operating out of an aging estate, we all have a part to play in ensuring our immediate surroundings are kept tidy.
If you have a need to advertise a Trust event, please contact the communications team swbh.comms@nhs.net for advice. The old, locked noticeboards which have very obviously out of date information will be removed as part of our rebranding ‘smarten up’ initiative, so if you are currently the ‘owner’ of one of these poster sites please let the comms team know so you can discuss maintenance of your information. If you are responsible for a board that is currently displaying out of date information, please put in a system to keep the information current. The sites that are marked for removal will be ticketed with advice of what is planned, so please ensure you act now to ensure no misunderstandings.
My apologies if some of this messaging is blunt. However, as initially superficial and unimportant as this may seem now, good, consistent adoption of our new branding will help us in the long run. The best healthcare institutions do this. We aspire to be in that category. Help us to achieve that aim.
Have a good week
Junior doctors: industrial action
Colleagues may be aware from local and national news this week that the British Medical Association (BMA) have met the ballot threshold for industrial action and as such the BMA have confirmed strike action on from 06:59 on 13 March to 06:59 on the 16 March 2023 at the Trust. This a fully continuous strike for 72 hours, and there are no derogations. That means no clinical areas are exempt.
Extensive planning has been underway since we learnt of the possibility of industrial action and the Trust are working closely with the group leads to ensure robust plans are in place to maintain a safe level of services for patients and to support our colleagues who will be taking strike action.
In addition, the Trust has been working closely with local and regional BMA representatives to maintain open dialogue in order that we can support colleagues with strike action. We are discussing the possibility of pickets on Trust sites, and these will be confirmed shortly.
As previously outlined, the Trust fully recognise that colleagues may want to exercise their legal right to take strike action. We have created an FAQ document which can be found on Connect for additional information and support about strike action. There are two FAQ documents, one for applicable for all staff groups and a second with pertinent FAQs for medical staff (Industrial Action (swbh.nhs.uk)). We would welcome any additional questions that colleagues may have and would advise that these are directed to your group HR support or to contact the HR advice line on EXT 6680 or via email at swb-tr.SWBH-GM-HR-Enquiries@nhs.net with any queries you may have.
The FoNS Inspire Improvements Fellowship – Open for applicants
We are delighted to be able to let you know that the Inspire Improvement Fellowship is now open for applications.
Are you a frontline clinical nurse/midwifery leader?
- Leading a team of nurses and/or carers?
- Keen to expand your skills in leading and facilitating culture change?
- Interested in person-centredness and continuous improvements in care and services at the frontline of practice?
The Inspire Improvement Fellowship is a fully-funded, development programme for frontline clinical nurse leaders (any setting UK-wide).
How to apply
- Visit the FoNS website and read more about theprogramme
- Email jo.odell@fons.org to arrange a chat to help youunderstand how to maximise your chances of success
- Talk to your line manager and Director of Nursing to discuss how they can support you
- Closes 30 May 2023 and programme starts September2023
https://www.fons.org/programmes/inspire-improvement
More information available in the attached flyer: Inspire Improvement 2023 Flyer
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