Monthly archives: October 2023

Coming soon – Midland Met induction lead drop in sessions

Making the move to Midland Met in 2024 will soon be upon us. To ensure everyone moving to our new hospital has a successful induction, we have induction leads available to support teams across SWB. 

If you are an induction lead, you’ll soon be able to drop in to collect your starter pack containing items to get you started in your new role. Members of the commissioning team will be available at the following dates and times:  

City Hospital    

• Monday, 20 November 
• 9am – 4pm 
• Midland Met Project Office (Formerly the old management block). Please ring the buzzer on arrival.

• Tuesday, 21 November 
• 8am – 12pm 
• Midland Met Project Office (Formerly the old management block). Please ring the buzzer on arrival. 

Sandwell Hospital 

• Thursday, 23 November 
• 9am – 12pm 
• Coffee Pot training room (Hallam restaurant building) 

To find out who your induction lead is click here.  

Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 20 October

Every month we take the opportunity to use the Friday Message to highlight latest news or updates about Midland Met. This week I have the pleasure of taking over the reins from Richard Beeken who is on study leave.

Ensuring stakeholders are briefed and engaged with, is imperative to building support and momentum as we move to opening the new hospital in Autumn 2024

I was delighted therefore, to be able to tag along recently with our Chief Operating Officer, Jo Newens and her counterparts across the Black Country for a tour of MMUH. We were joined by Gwen Nutall and Will Roberts from Royal Wolverhampton and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust respectively and Karen Kelly from Dudley Group NHS Trust as part of our continuing stakeholder engagement and awareness programme.

Opening Midland Met impacts on our partner organisations too, both in terms of readiness to deal with changes to the patient activity distribution and mutual support over the move period 2024.

They were hugely impressed with how the building is now looking and how the clinical model alignment is being driven forward as all organisations strive to make improvements in urgent care and beyond. They were firmly committed to working with us to become operationally live in 2024 and ensure a smooth transition for patients across the Black Country system.

I have now taken part in several visits to MMUH over the past few weeks and have been really impressed by the constructive and positive feedback. As part of wider external assurance some of my team and I met with a PAR (Programme Assurance Review) team to explore key lines of enquiry related to areas in workstreams, programme and strategic risks and preparedness for the next stage (GATE4 Readiness for service).  So far it has been useful, and I will ensure to share feedback with you and your teams over coming weeks.

Last month we also opened the monthly MMUH Team Talk (last Thursday of each month) to the entire organisation, and I was delighted that over 170 colleagues were able to join. It was also positive that there were lots of varied questions during the session which help us to frame further communications or activities. I would encourage you to join the meeting if you have time as it is a valuable way to find out the latest news and updates about the move to MMUH, it is also a useful signpost to information sources to share with your teams.

As we prepare to open Midland Met next year, we have created a simple graphic ‘Ready, Set , Go; which provides us all with a clear framework for the sequencing of events and activities across the organisation that need to happen to enable a safe opening. You will start to hear about and see ‘Ready, Set, Go ‘ discussed at meetings and presentations in the Trust and I encourage you to use this framework as a guide to the work you and your teams have to undertake over coming months. If you would like a blank version, please contact Claire.Wilson14@nhs.net in the MMUH Programme Office.

We now have several MMUH Ambassadors such as Move Champions, Clinical Change Managers and Induction Leads that are helping spread the word about all things MMUH and importantly are your opportunity to share feedback that can continue to shape the journey to opening.

If you have any great ideas, have concerns or comments or just would like a chat there are lots of ways you can get do this. Please link through the MMUH pages on Connect to see the latest activities. If you would like to contact me directly, please drop me an email on Rachel.barlow2@nhs.net, your support throughout the coming year and beyond is essential .

Finally, thank you to colleagues who wore green on Wednesday to show their support for Freedom to Speak Up #breakingftsubarriers

Speaking Up is an incredibly important part of ensuring that we are always striving for continuous improvement. Our Freedom to Speak Up Guardians are there to support you. Find out more on Connect.

Thank you

Rachel

Unity maintenance: 2 November, 3.30am – 7am

Please be aware an essential Unity maintenance will be taking place on Thursday 2 November from 3.30am to 7am to ensure the Trust’s EPR system remains up to date and compliant. The work is being carried out by our support vendor Cerner and is scheduled to begin at 3.30am for approximately 3.5 hours and should be completed by 7am.

During this time Unity will remain available; however, between 6am to 6.30am Thursday 2 November Unity users will be required to log off the system and log straight back in to allow the installation of a new update. Colleagues will receive a fifteen-minute count down warning within Unity prior to being forcibly logged off.

The activity will be closely monitored by our support vendor and IT support teams and desktop alert updates will also be issued.

As always, should you have any further queries then please do contact the IT Service Desk on ext. 4050 or 0121 507 4050 or via Service Desk Live Chat Chat with the IT Service Desk.

Reminder to colleagues: Tender waiver

A reminder to everyone that the approved process for the Trust when purchasing goods and/or services, is to seek quotations from two or more suppliers, regardless of the value of the purchase.  Competition is a key component of driving the best value. Without competition, it is impossible for the Trust to establish whether it is getting the best product or service.  It is also extremely difficult to judge value for money.

Suppliers will often offer percentage reductions, special deals, one-off incentives (e.g. free equipment) or time-limited discounts, all of which are designed to make staff commit to quick purchases without comparing the offer against alternatives.  Whilst in some instances it is possible that such special offers represent the best deal for the Trust, it is often not the case.  It is always preferable to check with Procurement Team prior to committing to a purchase that is not on a catalogue.

When is a tender waiver necessary?

A tender waiver form is required when:

•  you are proposing to spend £10K+; and

• you have not obtained any alternative quotes.

Tender Waivers will only be accepted in exceptional circumstances, such as when only one supplier is available or to buy elsewhere would result in disproportionate technical difficulties.  All of the justifications are listed on the Trusts standard Tender Waiver Form.

Why must I raise a tender waiver?

A tender waiver should be a method of last resort.  In most instances, it is preferable to tender or to ask for additional quotations.  The Trust’s standing financial instructions (SFIs) encourage competition wherever possible. The SFIs are designed to ensure that we achieve probity, accuracy, economy, efficiency and effectiveness. Put simply, if we don’t follow the SFIs, we can’t guarantee we are delivering value for money.

Guidance

1. Plan your expenditure and your procurement route to ensure the best value for public money

2. Do not enter into last-minute contractual arrangements that mean we cannot ensure value for money

3. Raise requisitions and purchase orders well in advance of incurring the cost

4. Involve the procurement team as early as possible

All tender waivers should be forwarded for approval to your procurement business partner or category manager.  If in doubt, send your waiver directly to mike.hanson@nhs.net.

Multi-Factor Authentication roll out across all remote workers has now started

In our efforts to increase cyber security at SWB and as part of a wider NHS England mandate, Informatics are in the process of rolling out Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for all remote workers.

In addition, we will be enabling your account for Self-Service Password Reset (SSPR). SSPR is a feature that enables users to reset their passwords without contacting IT staff for help. The users can securely unblock themselves and continue working no matter where they are or time of day.

Your Pulse VPN client will be reconfigured. You will be disconnected from Pulse VPN and will be prompted to login to Pulse VPN. Note: This work is being implemented on a phased approach over approximately four months so you will not be affected straight away.

• Use the username and password for your laptop to register for MFA.
• Username is in the format xxxxx@swbh.nhs.uk
• For example, if you log into your laptop with firstname.surname
• Use: firstname.surname@swbh.nhs.uk

Follow the onscreen prompts. Detailed instructions can be found by accessing the user guide.

You will be given a 14-day grace period to register for MFA. After that it will be enforced, so ensure that you have enrolled prior to this. If you have any issues, please contact the service desk.

Bone profile resulting issues during the period of 24 – 27 October

Following the recent migration of the pathology system to Winpath Enterprise, we are aware there have been a number of bone profile results that have not been sent out between 24 – 27 October.  The root problem has been identified and resolved and we will be sending out the missing results. These will require endorsement along with the other results from the sample for that request.

Should you have any queries relating to the above information please contact bcps.pathologyit@nhs.net.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Netcall patching works: 1 November, 8pm – 11pm

As part of the Trust wide Project to modernise the telephony some changes are planned to be made on Wednesday 1 November, 8pm – 11pm.

This applies to the Netcall Liberty system (only) and is to update the Liberty system (server patching) prior to Liberty being upgraded at a later date (to be confirmed) to the latest version – called “Converse”.

The areas below may be impacted by the change although the impact will be minimal. Colleagues may need to log out and log back in again. That may be needed more than one time though this will only be needed between 8pm – 11pm.

In the event IVoR has issues and dialling “0” does not connect you to switchboard please dial 6599 which is a backup line direct to switchboard.

Alternatively dial the 2222 emergency number if appropriate.

Netcall Voicemail services may be temporarily unavailable between 8pm – 11pm.

All Netcall services will be restored no later than 11pm.

Trust celebrates International #MedSafetyWeek

All medicines can have side effects; in some people, these can be severe.

Reporting an adverse drug reaction, if it occurs, makes the details of that reaction available to be analyzed. This information can be used to add caution and warnings. This knowledge can be used to make sure the right medicines are given to the right patients.  This makes medicines safer for everyone.

Adverse drug reactions are reported online on the MHRA Yellow Card website and there is also an app. This feedback is crucial to ensuring medicines are safe.

For one week each year, we raise awareness of the reporting system and promote recognition and reporting of suspected adverse drug reactions.  The 2023 campaign will run from 6–12 November and will call on patients and healthcare professionals to report all side effects.

The West Midlands Centre for Adverse Drug Reactions is based in our Pharmacy department and we will be raising awareness during the week.

Clinical support system maintenance: 6 November, 7am – 7.30am

An essential CSS (clinical support system) maintenance will be taking place on Monday 6 November to ensure the Trust’s system remains stable. The work is being carried out by IT and is scheduled to begin at 7am for approximately 30 minutes and should be completed by 7.30am.

During this time colleagues using CSS may experience brief disconnections and be forcibly logged off the system but will be able to log straight back in.

We would recommend colleagues try not to upload documents into CSS, access the ‘CDA’ icon in Unity to view historical patient records, or complete eOutcomes from the link in Unity between 6.55am and 7.05am. This timeslot has been chosen as a quieter time operationally to minimise impact.

The activity will be closely monitored by our IT support teams.

As always, should you have any further queries please do contact the IT Service Desk on ext. 4050 or 0121 507 4050 or via Chat with the IT Service Desk.

Menopause Cafe – 13 November

The menopause cafe is scheduled to take place on Monday 13 November from 1pm to 2pm – click here to join via Microsoft Teams.

Menopause cafes are an opportunity to gain support and information about menopause in the workplace.  If you are a colleague who wants support and advice about the menopause, or a manager who wants to know how we can support menopausal staff members please drop in and join the session.

There will be menopause champions available to talk to you and offer support.  We need to normalise menopause and remove the ‘shame’ that stops us talking about it and make it part of our everyday conversation when discussing wellbeing.

For more information on menopause cafes contact Amber Markham by emailing  amber.markham@nhs.net.