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Monthly archives: October 2023

COVID-19 testing changes

 

Testing for symptomatic patients will continue for patients based on COVID-19 symptoms.

Key updates include:

  • Testing all symptomatic patients using LFD (or POCT in A&E)
  • Testing before transfer to Rowley Regis or Leasowes, and testing within a 48-hour period before direct transfer to a care home or another Trust.
  • Staff in high-risk areas only to use LFD if symptomatic – see list in staff testing section in document below. No LFDs will be available to for staff testing unless you work in the high risk areas or have been asked to test as part of an outbreak by the infection control team

Please see COVID testing October 2023 information sheet for further details including details around staff testing.

Black History Month – Roaming Pop-Up Exhibition

 

Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust have commissioned local art curator Juliet Whitter to set up an exhibition to mark Black History Month.  The exhibition aims to take people down memory lane and showcase what life was like for local Black people in recent history.  Come along and be transported back in time and learn about personal stories and journeys made by Black people, particularly in the era between the late 1940s and 1970s, when around 500,000 people left their homes in the Caribbean to help rebuild Britain after it had been ravaged by World War Two.

The exhibition will be touring the following sites:

  • 16 October – Penn Hospital
  • 17 October – Hallam Street Hospital
  • 30 October – Bushey Fields Hospital
  • 31 October – Trafalgar House

Opening and closing times will vary depending on the site, but it will certainly be available for staff members, patients and visitors to access from 11am to 2pm.

Staying Power: Unity through Community- Black History Month 2023

 

Black History Month recognises the contributions and achievements of Black people to British society, as well as raising awareness and understanding of Black history. Furthermore, it provides an opportunity to empower future generations.

There are a number of events taking place throughout October to mark Black History Month.

On Wednesday 11 October, in partnership with the University of Birmingham and Recognize Black Heritage and Culture, SWB is hosting Staying Power: Unity through Community.

Taking place at the Exchange, 3 Centenary Square, from 6.30pm – 8.30pm, the evening will see perspectives from academics, students, and artists from across the West Midlands.

Marking the 75th anniversary of the arrival of HMT Empire Windrush, this event will examine the history of migration linked to the Windrush community, celebrating the valuable contributions made by the community.

The evening will also include the premiere of a new film, Staying Power: Unity through Community. The film revisits participants, including colleagues from SWB, from the original Here to Stay photographic exhibition, commissioned to mark the 70th anniversary of the arrival of HMT Empire Windrush and the birth of the NHS.

To register for the event, visit: https://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/article/listings/region/birmingham/staying-power-unity-through-community/

To see other events in the region, please visit: https://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/listings/region/birmingham/

Star Awards 2023: Prize for Transformation and Research – meet the nominees!

 

This award recoginses an individual or team that has introduced a transformation or participated in research activity that has made substantial improvements to services or systems and processes, resulting in the improvement of patient experience and outcomes. 

The year’s nominees are:

  • Radiopharmacy
  • Training and Development Team, Breast Imaging
  • Kristina Diridis

Be sure to check out this short video featuring the nominees in this category to find out more!

Occupational Health online referral system not operating between 6 – 17 October

 

Due to a system upgrade from 6 – 17 October, the occupational health online referral system will not be operational. During these time frames, manager’s must not submit any online referrals due to system inability to receive or process referrals.

Any referrals submitted after Wednesday 4 October will not be processed until after the upgrade date. For urgent referral requests please contact swbhh.ohreferrals@nhs.net for further guidance.

October is Speak Up Month

 

As you may be aware October is Speak Up Month. Freedom to Speak Up is for everyone who works here.

Speaking up enhances all our working lives and improves the quality and safety of care. Listening and acting upon matters raised means that Freedom to Speak Up will help us be a great place to work.

Speak Up Month in October is an opportunity to raise awareness of how much we value speaking up in our organisation. We see speaking up as fundamental to how we work, and we want to be part of making speaking up business as usual across SWB.

Be sure to check out this short video featuring Raj Bector, programme manager for the primary care, communities and therapies directorate talking about why freedom to speak up resonates with him.

To find out more about how to speak up at SWB and our guardians, please click here.

Wear it Green on 18 October: The National Guardians Office are encouraging everyone to take part in wear it green on Wednesday 18 October to show their visible support for Freedom to Speak Up. You can get involved with Speak Up Month across social media using the hashtag #BreakingFTSUBarriers

Find out more from www.nationalguardian.org.uk.

Meet our guardians in your ward or area: Our Guardians will be visiting different parts of the Trust on the following dates:

  • Thursday 5 October, City
  • Thursday 12 October, Sandwell and Tipton
  • Friday 13 October, Rowley
  • Thursday 19 October, City
  • Friday 20 October, the Lyng and Leasowes
  • Monday 23 October, Sandwell
  • Thursday 26 October, City
  • Friday 27 October, Sandwell
  • Monday 30 October, City

October is Speak Up Month

 

As you may be aware October is Speak Up Month. Freedom to Speak Up is for everyone who works here.

Speaking up enhances all our working lives and improves the quality and safety of care. Listening and acting upon matters raised means that Freedom to Speak Up will help us be a great place to work.

Speak Up Month in October is an opportunity to raise awareness of how much we value speaking up in our organisation. We see speaking up as fundamental to how we work, and we want to be part of making speaking up business as usual across SWB.

Watch this short video featuring Chris Ronayne, lead Professional development nurse talking about what freedom to speak up means to her.

To find out more about how to speak up at SWB and our guardians, please click here.

Wear it Green on 18 October: The National Guardians Office are encouraging everyone to take part in wear it green on Wednesday 18 October to show their visible support for Freedom to Speak Up. You can get involved with Speak Up Month across social media using the hashtag #BreakingFTSUBarriers

Find out more from www.nationalguardian.org.uk.

Meet our guardians in your ward or area: Our Guardians will be visiting different parts of the Trust on the following dates:

  • Thursday 5 October, City
  • Thursday 12 October, Sandwell and Tipton
  • Friday 13 October, Rowley
  • Thursday 19 October, City
  • Friday 20 October, the Lyng and Leasowes
  • Monday 23 October, Sandwell
  • Thursday 26 October, City
  • Friday 27 October, Sandwell
  • Monday 30 October, City

Staff Survey Launches Today: Take 15 minutes to fill it in

 

The 2023 staff survey is now open, and you will shortly (if not already) be receiving your invitation to have your say.

By taking part in the survey, your views will be heard by not only SWB but by the region, and key decision makers nationally and used to inform policy and improvements around your priorities such as safety, wellbeing, working decisions and pay. By completing this survey once, your voice will be heard by numerous data users.

As a result of your feedback in surveys, we developed our SWB People Plan, which sets out how we will deliver on our People objective – to cultivate and sustain happy, productive, and engaged staff.  It is a three-year plan which focuses on staff morale, satisfaction, and wellbeing.  It is not a workforce plan which focuses purely on numbers and recruitment.

Our wish is for SWB to be a workplace in which colleagues can realise a healthy work/life balance, to feel safe and respected and to feel fulfilled. A place where people seek to work, in which they feel a sense of pride and a workplace in which everyone thrives.

Please do take 15 minutes of your time to complete the survey when it arrives – for many of you this will be via e-mail, but for those who don’t have regular access to a computer (porters, ward services and catering) it will be delivered to your home address.

For the first time, the survey will also be sent to bank only staff, who play a vital role in supporting our organisation, so it is only right that they are given the opportunity to have their say too.

Watch this short video from Trust Chair, Sir David Nicholson as he talks about the importance of the staff survey.

The survey closes on Friday 24 November.

A new provider

For 2023, we have a brand-new staff survey provider, Picker, who have taken over from Quality Health.

This means that some things might look slightly different to what you are used to, crucially, the e-mail address that your survey arrives from has changed.

It will now be called Staff Survey 2023 and come from picker_surveys@picker.org

You can find out more about Picker and how they protect your data and confidentiality by watching this short video:

Be in it to win it

As a thank you for taking the time to feedback, we have some prizes on offer!

The first 100 people who complete their survey will go into a prize draw to win £200 worth of shopping vouchers – so it’s worth getting in there quickly.

We also have six £50 vouchers to give away – everyone who takes the survey will be entered into a draw for these.

Finally – we have team prizes available for those teams and departments who get the highest percentage of colleagues completing the survey – so it’s definitely worth encouraging your colleagues to complete their survey.

The NHS People Promise

The annual NHS Staff Survey has been aligned with the People Promise. A promise to ensure that every voice is heard from every background and across every role.

The NHS People Promise

This is a promise we must all make to each other – to work together to improve the experience of working in the NHS for everyone.

  • We are compassionate and inclusive
  • We are recognised and rewarded
  • We each have a voice that counts
  • We are safe and healthy
  • We are always learning
  • We work flexibly
  • We are a team

We will listen, we will hear, and we will act.  This is our promise to you!

Find out more about the people promise by clicking here.

But is it really confidential?

One of the things we always hear being debated is the confidentiality of the staff survey. Please let us remind you that no one in the organisation, or the NHS, can identify individual responses. Your answers will be treated in the strictest confidence and only themes will be shared with the Trust. Even if you talk about your individual teams, this information will be redacted before it reaches us. The bar code on the survey is used solely by Picker, the external contractor that runs the survey nationally, to identify which staff should be sent a reminder.

Find out more about the confidentiality of the survey and how it is managed by watching this short animation:

Staff Survey: Frequently Asked Questions

Through the duration of the survey, we will be answering some of your frequently asked questions, and we will also be giving you the opportunity to put some of them to Chief Executive, Richard Beeken (watch this space).

What is the purpose of the staff survey?

The NHS Staff Survey collects our NHS people’s views about working in their organisation. The results are used to improve local working conditions, and ultimately to improve patient care. The Survey is administered annually so views can be monitored over time. It also allows us to compare the experiences of our NHS people in similar organisations, and to compare the experiences of those in a particular organisation with the national picture.

Do staff have to complete the survey?

Participation is not compulsory, but our NHS people are strongly encouraged to use the opportunity to give their opinions and views about the organisation in which they work by completing the questionnaire. This gives each member of staff equal opportunity to have their voice heard.

It is important that as many people as possible complete the questionnaire to get a wide and representative understanding of the voice of our NHS People.

NETS 2023 Survey Opens From Tuesday 3 October – Thursday 30 November 2023

 

The National Education and Training Survey (NETS) opens on 3rd October 2023 to 30th November 2023.

The NETS is the only national survey open to all undergraduate and postgraduate students undertaking a practice placement in healthcare as part of their education and training programme.

The survey gathers opinions from students about their time working in practice placements, asking them to provide feedback on what worked well and what they think could be improved. Every survey response, across every profession and location counts and helps to improve the experience of current and future students.

The NETS is the voice of the current and future workforce. By understanding their experience, we can work together to ensure that all individuals are supported to learn in safe and inclusive learning environments.

Promotional Materials:

Please find attached promotional materials and learner/provider toolkits to help promote NETS within your profession and teams. You can also access additional materials such as email banners, teams backgrounds and flyers here: NETS 2023 Marketing Materials | Health Education England (hee.nhs.uk)

If you have any questions or queries, please contact:

Aimee Turner – AHP Practice Education Lead (aimeeturner@nhs.net)

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