Monthly archives: May 2023

Heartbeat: Our new People Plan is a direct response to your feedback

We recently caught up with our Chief People Officer, Frieza Mahmood about the launch of the People Plan and how it will address the issues you have raised in our staff surveys.

The People Plan was approved by our Board in January and sets out how we will deliver on our People objective – to cultivate and sustain happy, productive and engaged staff.

Our new People Plan supports that strategic objective by focussing on improving staff satisfaction and experience in order to support a positive organisational culture to thrive.

Click here to find out more about the People Plan.

Frieza told us more: “The People Plan is really about the things that matter to everyone who works in our organisation. Every time you give us feedback via the national staff surveys or the quarterly Pulse surveys, we genuinely listen and take the time to understand what your views really mean.

“This plan is a very detailed commitment about what we will do to give you a great experience as a member of our team here at SWB.

“For instance, there are a number of elements linked to development as a direct effort to support our staff in having the tools they need to do their job well and accelerate their career in the Trust. There is also an important focus on key areas such as fairness which can result in poor staff experience if not consistently managed well. We want to make SWB a great place to work – we want you to develop and grow your career with us. We also want members of our communities to choose us an employer and establish a long-term career in our organisation.

“Essentially we want you to be able to be proud to work for us and recommend SWB as a great place to work and receive care.”

Click here and turn to page 14 to read the full article.

Be sure to also check out this video featuring Frieza Mahmood talking about the staff survey.

Dying Matters Awareness Week continues this week

This week is Dying Awareness Week, an annual campaign run by Hospice UK, it aims to get people talking and sharing stories openly about dying and grief, to reduce the associated stress, stigma, and social isolation. This year’s theme is ‘dying matters’ at work too.

57 per cent of colleagues will have experienced a bereavement in the last five years and every day, more than 600 people quit work to look after older and disabled relatives. And yet, fewer than one in five managers feel very confident supporting someone they manage with a bereavement.

By talking to those around you, you can help us make sure that workplaces are properly set up to support people who are ill, who are caring for those around them, or who have lost someone close to them.

Stigma around grieving, and a lack of understanding about what it means to be ill and what happens when you’re dying, means that too many of us are struggling to cope when faced with life’s inevitable challenges. And the workplace is no exception.

We spend so much of our lives at work – and we shouldn’t have to hide our experiences of death and dying from our colleagues, our peers, or our bosses. We want to create open and compassionate society where we are comfortable facing the realities of dying, death and grief.

Colleagues from our palliative care team will be hosting an information stand in the main reception area at Sandwell Hospital (Tuesday – Thursday) 11.30am – 1.30pm and at City, main reception front entrance (near Archers) on Friday 12 May from 11.30am – 1.30pm – do head over and speak to the team – they have chocolates!

Information will also be on display at Rowley and Leasowes.

You can find out more about Dying Matters Week by clicking here.

ICS wellbeing sessions

The Black Country ICS are offering an array of wellbeing sessions for colleagues at SWB.

For more information, please email samuel.skelding1@nhs.net.

Black Country health and wellbeing week: 15-19 May

Join the Black Country ICS between 15 -19 May for a Black Country-wide health and wellbeing week.

The week will include a range of virtual sessions for you to attend and join in, covering physical health, mental health, and financial health. Some of our key speakers already secured for the week are the Art of Brilliance with Darrell Woodman, A Kind Life with Tim Keogh, Sleep School with Dr Guy Meadows, improving mental health through laughter with Sheila McMahon, Building your mental fitness with Doctor Alex George, sound healing meditation and a DJ set with Kishan Bodalia, plus much more.

For further information and to join any of the sessions, please click here.

Revised weekly pay dates for colleagues during May Bank Holidays

Due to the May Bank Holidays, some of the weekly pay dates will change during May.

Please see May and Spring pay period information sheet for further details.

Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 5 May

This week I want to focus on the production plan for the year ahead. Theatres are our most expensive resource, and we aren’t using them like we used to. Our plan is to move from 94 per cent of 2019/20 activity levels last year to a minimum of 104 per cent this year. Like I’ve said many times before in this blog, the funding that we saw during the pandemic is no longer available to us, so it is important that we use our taxpayer pound as wisely as we can.

Chief Operating Officer, Jo Newens and her team are doing some great work to ensure we get it right when it comes to our theatre schedules, maximising our day case rates and ensuring our theatre sessions are not only safe, but efficient too.

Here is some of the work they are doing.

List utilisation – on average 78.66 per cent of the list over the last 12 months was used. To improve this the team have put in place the following actions:

Annualised job plan covering 52 weeks of theatre session.
Pro-actively re-cycle uncovered theatre sessions.
Clinical groups to publish theatre rota and adhering to 6-4-2 policy – a process where consultant leave is agreed at eight weeks from the day of surgery, theatre lists start being built at six weeks from the day of surgery, lists are signed off at four weeks from the day of surgery and at two weeks all lists are ‘locked down’ (subject to only exceptional changes).
Workforce gaps to be addressed within clinical groups, anaesthetists, and theatre staffing.
Skill mix and right equipment available to avoid any last minute theatre cancellations.
Patients are prepped up fully to avoid any cancellation resulting in loss of a whole session or day.

In-list utilisation – over the last year we saw an average of 71.59 per cent productivity. As a result, the team will:

Enhance communication and coordination among surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses and support staff to improve efficiency and ensure smooth patient flow.
Optimise pre-operative activities to reduce cancellations and improve readiness for surgery.
Efficiency on theatre pre-ward round and consent will help to improve workflow, reduce errors, and enhance overall efficiency.
Clinicians to specify more accurate procedure time on patient waiting list.

All the above will help ensure our lists are fully booked to 100 per cent of theatre time.

Skill mixes and equipment availability to avoid on the day cancellations.
Address issues around late start and early finishes.
Patients streamlined to improve turn-around between cases.
Avoid switching specialities between sessions and instead have a whole day for a speciality to improve efficiency.

We are confident that we will start to see a marked improvement as these measures are introduced and embedded into our processes. Indeed, if your work supports our theatres, I urge you to embrace these changes and think about what else we could do to improve the care we provide for patients. Share those ideas with your teams and managers so we can continue our improvement journey.

Information for recruiting managers: Vacancy control/approval process

A new vacancy control/approval process has been introduced with immediate effect. When you now request a post to be advertised on TRAC all recruiting managers will be asked a number of questions relating to the funding of the post, whether it is being covered by bank/agency and whether it is an MMUH specific post. The answers to these questions will enable the recruitment and finance teams to triage whether the post requires further approval. If the post falls into the following categories then it will require further approval:

All posts that are not identified as being part of the current establishment (excluding MMUH posts) and/or being filled by bank and agency. 

All administrative, clerical and management posts
All Band 5 Nursing posts
All Band 7 and above agenda for change clinical posts

If the post is in one of the above categories then the Recruitment Team will send an impact assessment form via TRAC that the recruiting manager will be required to complete and return.

Once the impact assessment form has been completed and returned via TRAC the Recruitment team will then add the appropriate senior manager (e.g. GDOP, GDON) as approver on TRAC who will consider the post and the information submitted on the Impact Assessment form to make a decision. If the senior manager approves the post then the recruitment team will then add the relevant executive director as an approver on TRAC to provide final authorisation.

Please see vacancy approval process using TRAC flow diagram for further details.

Disruption information ahead of the Coronation Weekend

During the celebrations of this momentous weekend, a number of major transport improvements and events are taking place and we want to help keep you moving.

Upcoming works: M42 Junction 6 Solihull Road bridge demolition, full weekend closure, Friday 5 May – Monday 8 May

As part of the continuing works to improve capacity on the M42, National Highways are working with Solihull Council to construct the new M42 junction 5a. The old Solihull Road bridge will need to be demolished to allow the continued building of a new link road.

National Highways will need to close the M42 in both directions between junctions 5 and 6 from 10pm on Friday 5 May to 5am on Monday 8 May. To reduce the amount of traffic travelling through the area during the closure, signs will be placed along the motorway to advise of possible delays.

Travel advice

Plan ahead and leave more time for your journey. If you travel on or around the M42 J5 to J6 (northbound) or M42 J6 to J5 (southbound) you may need to leave more time for your journey. There will be a signed diversion route in operation as shown on the map below. We advise that you check the latest traffic conditions before you leave using apps like Google Maps or WAZE.
Use public transport where possible. This is to reduce congestion in the local area.

Click here for more information.

Message for roster managers: Are you recording absence and sickness correctly?

It is imperative that we ensure that all sickness has been recorded correctly and accurately in the HealthRoster system. We have noticed that some sickness episodes are not being ended or extended in a timely manner which could result in overpayment or underpayment for those who are currently off sick.

If you have a colleague who is currently still off sick and has not returned to work please ensure that you tick the open ended box which is available when you go in and edit that sickness episode (edit unavailability, this tick box will only be available where you have a sickness end date in the future, you may need to extend the end date for the tick box to be visible). By using the open ended feature this information will allow ESR to understand whether this sickness is still open or ended thus allowing the correct sick pay to be calculated.

Please see below screenshot of the open ended tick box.

If you have been using the open ended tick box and colleagues have returned back from sickness, please edit the sickness episode and untick this box and enter the correct end date of the colleague returning to work. Please ensure you tick the return to work interview box and add a interview date.

Note: Open ended should only be ticked where colleagues are still on sick leave and you are unsure of the return-to-work date, this will include anyone who has provided you with a sick note or those who may be on long term sick.

Finalising sickness: All sickness episodes must be finalised on the roster. This will include ended sickness episodes and open-ended sickness episodes.

If you have any queries please email swb-tr.swbh-gm-erostering-helpdesk@nhs.net.

Personal Development Reviews (PDRs) for 2023

Following feedback from colleagues and leaders, the Trust has reviewed its approach to the Personal Development Review (PDR) Process for 2023, and a refreshed process will be launched in early May.

In response to feedback, the length of the PDR cycle for 2023 will be extended to eight months, commencing in May and finishing at the end of December 2023. This means all PDRs must now be completed by the end of December 2023. This allows more time for departments to spread their PDRs more evenly over the year, which in turn allows for line managers to hold more meaningful, good quality PDR discussions with colleagues.

The PDR form has also been updated and will include:

Personalised wellbeing discussion
Review of whether work objectives for previous year have been met
Discussion on how the individual demonstrates the new Trust values and behaviours in their role.
Setting SMART work objectives for the coming year. This will include a pre-set objective (which should be customised to the specific job role) to support the ‘Patients, People and Population’ Trust strategic direction.
Career aspirations and personal development plan

Managers should ensure that PDRs are planned in advance and scheduled evenly over the PDR cycle to ensure they are completed on time. Priority should ideally be given to individuals that have not had a PDR in the last 12 months.

Further details, including relevant guidance and the link to the new PDR form, will be available on Connect in early May.

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Monthly archives: May 2023

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