Monthly archives: November 2023
Are you putting your samples in the correct bags?
For more information please email nazir.ahmed1@nhs.net.
Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 10 November
When you are a Chief Executive, you are accountable officer for the Trust you lead. You may not be responsible for a great deal directly, but you are ACCOUNTABLE for everything. Patient safety, staff satisfaction, delivery against access standards and delivery of financial expectations. That accountability is to my Trust Board.
One feels the accountability very keenly when an aspect of your Trust’s services is not delivering, particularly when patient safety and experience is negatively affected, along with that negative trend impacting on colleague’s morale and pride. At the moment, that one issue which weighs heavily on me, is that of patient and staff experience in urgent and emergency care (UEC, for short). Allow me to explain why, and more critically, what I feel we are and need to do about it:
Boiling it down, we have unacceptable waiting times for patients in our emergency departments (EDs) and our urgent treatment centres (UTCs). The inability to assess, treat and where necessary admit patients in a timely way, leads to cubicles being filled and overcrowding in our EDs. In the last few weeks, that overcrowding has deteriorated, meaning critical safety standards like ambulance handover, wait to be seen by a doctor/practitioner and wait for admission, are being severely compromised.
It is not enough for us to either a) slip into the trap of saying “well, everyone’s UEC standards are slipping, we are in line with them” or worse still b) effectively lose our sense of moral outrage about this. Be under no illusion, our Trust is slipping faster than others in this area, and it is not only increasing the risk of harm to patients, but also starting to cause moral injury to our staff.
To respond, the Trust Board yesterday agreed a significant investment for the rest of the year to improve patient safety and experience at our front door(s). This includes:
- More senior medical decision makers in ED and acute medicine/SDEC for longer in the day
- Transfer team investment to move patients who need admission, to their inpatient bed more quickly
- Extending our UTC hours well into the night
- Improved food and drink provision for patients awaiting admission in our two Eds.
This investment is significant. It totals well over £1 million, and it must deliver results. Lest we forget, patient access standards (4four hours, ambulance handover times etc.) are not performance measures. They are proxy indicators of safety. We must improve. The quid pro quo for this investment, which I need from everyone in the Trust who contributes to the patient journey in UEC, is adherence to professional standards of responsiveness, adherence to clinical triage and assessment standards and a focus from inpatient ward staff on timely discharge and assertive patient journey coordination. Most importantly, however, I want you all NOT to lose your sense of moral outrage about this and to remain positive that we can do better. Because we can do better.
Thank you for your help.
Have a good week.
Richard
Research fellowship funding opportunity
R&D have managed to secure funding for employees to undertake research projects across the Trust. Applications are invited from SWB staff. This could be in the form of PAs, research fellows, WTE funding and MUST be linked to a specific research project.
Whilst applications are not capped, it is envisaged that more than one project is funded through this scheme. It is expected that these projects will align to the Trust R&D strategy ‘Saving Lives through Research 23-27′ and will work collaboratively with an Academic Partner. Where the Academic partnership is with Aston university, lead applicants will also be considered for an honorary post through this scheme.
Appointments will be for a maximum of two years, but will be reviewed at the 12 month mark to seek approval for renewal for a further 12 months. During the projects, there will be regular meetings and appraisal with the R&D Senior leadership team.
This is an exciting opportunity for suitable candidates to make a real difference in research. The instigation of NHS Research fellowships will strengthen the trusts position as an active leader in NHS clinical research, creating an environment which will attract leading staff committed to ensuring our patients and local population are provided with the highest standard of care.
Applications close on 1 December. Informal expression of interest to find out further information are welcome. To complete an application, please contact Kelly Hard, Head of Research and Development, Sandwell & West Birmingham NHS Trust, Clinical Research Facility (kellyhard@nhs.net).
A message from Sir David Nicholson: Joint Provider Committee
A message from Sir David Nicholson, Chair:
Dear colleagues,
I just wanted to let you know of some developments that we are introducing across the Black Country. This will see the creation of a new Joint Provider Committee (JPC) which has been set up to strengthen the collaborative work of the four providers across the Black Country.
The committee, which includes Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, will be chaired by myself with support of the three chief executives and deputy chairs of the four organisations listed below:
- Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust: Deputy Chair, Lesley Writtle and Chief Executive, Richard Beeken
- The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust: Deputy Chair, Gary Crowe and Chief Executive, Diane Wake
- The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust: Deputy Chair, John Dunn and Chief Executive, Professor David Loughton CBE
- Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust; Deputy Chair, Paul Assinder and Chief Executive, Professor David Loughton CBE
Our aim for the committee will be to do the following:
- Governance and assurance of the work plan of the Black Country Provider Collaborative
- Take delegated responsibility from Black Country Integrated Care Board (BC ICB) for the things such as maternity, elective care, urgent care, diagnostics
- Oversee key strategic areas of joint interest such as major projects.
The creation of the joint committee will build on the existing relationships and strong partnership working that has been fostered since all providers have been collaborating more effectively since COVID. This work has helped to see the acceleration of clinical transformation across a number of our services, delivering better performance across the four organisations and reducing health inequalities so all of our patients have the same level of high quality care.
A collaboration agreement has been approved by the four Trust boards, this sets out how the committee intends to work together, creating a single agreed vision, with a set of objectives, priorities and principles.
This new committee is designed to enhance the integrated way of working that has already started to realise benefits for all four trusts. The four organisations will still operate independently with the same leadership and management structures. It will not override the existing statutory requirements / duties of the four organisations, change or replace any existing service contracts.
I will continue to provide further updates on the progress we are making in due course.
Sir David Nicholson, Chair
Fraud, bribery and ID verification awareness session: 7 December
The next fraud, bribery and ID verification awareness session via Microsoft Teams will be held on Thursday 7 December 2023 from 10am – 1pm.
The session covers key information fraud and bribery that may be committed in the recruitment process within the NHS. It will also provide up to date information regarding any changes to government and NHS recruitment guidelines, right to work checks and ID verification.
It will also covering;
- Understanding fraud and bribery
- Right to work checks
- Recruitment fraud
- Verification of documents
- Verification of drivers licences and passports
- How to report concerns
Please be aware that the session is scheduled for three hours, as there is a lot to get through. There is no scheduled lunch break but there will be a short comfort break. We actively encourage participants to ask questions throughout the session and you are also invited to stay following the session should you have any further questions.
We encourage your participation during the session and will be using an interactive Q&A polling platform called Slido. You can access Slido through your mobile phone using a QR code (provided during the session) or you can use log in on the website at www.slido.com using the code #1298771 to participate.
If you have access to a passport and/or driving licence please have these with you, as you will be able to identify the security features as we go through the session.
To join this session please click here.
Note: This session will cover the same content as the fraud, bribery and ID verification awareness sessions delivered on 8 March, 6 June and 7 September.
Donations for pet food and accessories welcome
The Cancer team is raising money and collecting items for ‘ Revolting Animals’ who rescue animals and nurture them back to normality before they look to rehome them.
The team is collecting the following
- Food for all animals
- Toys
- Bedding
- Old Towels
The cancer team is collecting from Friday 10 November through to Wednesday 22 November. If you would like to donate to the charity, please visit the cancer team in the Hallam Building Sandwell or contact Jennifer Donovan for alternative arrangements 01215072776.
This week is Occupational Therapy Week – meet Aimee Turner
Occupational therapy is one of the allied health professions that helps people of all ages who have physical, sensory, or cognitive problems. Occupational Therapy Week aims to increase awareness of and celebrate the essential service occupational therapists provide in helping patients regain independence in all areas of their lives. This year’s Occupational Therapy Week is celebrated between 6 – 12 November.
Meet Aimee Turner:
“My OT career started in 2001, after studying BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy at Northampton University. I joined Sandwell and Birmingham NHS Trust as a Basic Grade Occupational Therapist and completed a mixed rotation supporting patients to regain independence and engage with their meaningful occupations. I went on to complete a Masters Degree in Occupational Therapy at Coventry University which enabled me to develop advanced knowledge in occupational performance and research. Whilst I enjoyed all clinical specialties, I finally settled in Stroke and Neurology where I developed a passion for cognitive assessment and rehabilitation. Throughout my career I have developed a passion for training and developing others and wasfortunate to complete a Postgraduate Certificate in Medical Education at the University of Wolverhampton. In September 2022 I was successful in securing a 6 month secondment post as Practice Education Therapy Lead and then a 12 month secondment as AHP Practice EducationLead in April 2023.
During these secondments I have worked to introduce an AHP preceptorship programme, AHP career map and have worked with AHP practice coordinators to develop an AHP practice-based education framework, AHP practice placement processes, AHP student resources.”
Have you had your vaccinations outside of the Trust? Let us know!
We know that many of our colleagues have had their vaccinations outside of the Trust, at their GP surgeries, in the community or perhaps at another trust.
In order to ensure we have accurate and up to date vaccination figures, we need to know which of our colleagues have been vaccinated, wherever they have had these! If you’ve been vaccinated elsewhere, please click here to fill out a quick survey and help ensure our data accurately represents our Trust.
If you have any questions, please email swbh.comms@nhs.net.
Unity maintenance: 9 November, 2.30am – 6.30am
Please be aware an essential Unity maintenance will be taking place on Thursday 9 November from 2.30am to 6.30am to ensure the Trust’s EPR system remains up to date and compliant. The work is being carried out by Cerner and is scheduled to begin at 2.30am for approximately four hours and should be completed by 6.30am.
During this time Unity will remain available; however for up to 45 minutes between 2.30am and 3.15am the following Unity messaging services will be delayed:
- New patients will not be able to be registered on iPM (Lorenzo) and FirstNet – full business continuity plans required.
- Radiology/pathology orders placed in Unity will be queued and not delivered until 3.15am GMT. – business continuity plans required.
- New results will not be visible in Unity during this time but will be sent once the systems come back up.
- Inpatients admitted from A&E will not show up in iPM until the systems are back up.
- Inpatients transferred between wards will show on Capman but not on iPM until the systems are back up.
- Inpatients discharged during this time will not show as discharged in iPM until the systems are back up.
Colleagues will need to ensure they revert to business continuity plans for blood tests and imaging requests during this time. The lab will phone out any urgent or abnormal results to the requestor during this time. Other Unity functionality such as documentation and meds admin will not be affected by this activity. Desktop alerts will be issued from midnight on Wednesday evening reminding colleagues about the planned downtime.
Then between 5.30am to 6.30am 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 15 minute count down warning within Unity prior to being forcibly logged off.
The activity will be closely monitored by desktop alert updates will also be issued from midnight.
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 Chat with the IT Service Desk.
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