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Monthly archives: January 2024

Unity printing maintenance: 18 January, 10.30pm – 11.30pm

 

Please be aware essential Unity maintenance will be taking place on Thursday 18 January to ensure the supporting infrastructure remains secure and security compliant. The work is scheduled to begin at 10.30pm for approximately one hour and should be completed by 11.30pm.

During this time Unity will remain fully available; however, from 10.30pm until 11pm on Thursday 18 January Unity printing will be unavailable for up to 30 minutes at the following site locations:

  • Sandwell – all areas
  • City – all areas
  • BMEC – all areas
  • BTC – all areas

o This will affect specimen label, requisition, and pharmacy printing.

o  Any print jobs submitted during this time will be held and printed once the print servers come back online.

If clinical staff are due to collect a sample between time above, we would advise them to wait until specimen labelling functionality returns. If staff have a very urgent specimen to collect that cannot wait to collect and send to pathology, then a manual pathology request form will need to be completed and sent with the sample. It is envisaged that this requirement will be extremely rare and unlikely at those times.

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

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.

Sandwell NHS Day Nursery – Tesco stronger starts in store vote update

 

Sandwell NHS Day Nursery grants to fund Garden Sunshade application for Tesco stronger starts has been successful and is available for customers to vote in local Tesco stores.

Voting will be open in store until the end of March.

Please see below a list of stores taking part in the voting Tesco Stronger Starts project.

Tesco West Bromwich Extra, B70 7PR
Stone Cross Tesco Express, B71 3HS
Tesco Great Barr Express, B43 5EL

To check the location of any of the above stores, please go to the Tesco website here

To vote, you will need to make a purchase within store of any value. You will receive one token per transaction and it’s not necessary to purchase a carrier bag in order to receive a token.

For more information contact emma.collier@nhs.net.

welearn poster competition – vote for your favourite

 

The welearn poster competition aims to engage and empower colleagues to share their good practice, quality initiatives, innovation, research and partnership work that has resulted in an improvement for patients, relatives and colleagues.

Colleagues have been hard at work in their QIHDs producing posters highlighting their great work for this year’s welearn poster competition.

Teams and individuals who have entered this competition now have the opportunity to have their hard work celebrated and recognised and also stand chance to win a share of the £5,000+ worth of prizes.

Voting for your favourite

You have the opportunity to vote online for your three favourite posters.

To review the posters and submit your votes, click on the link below and login to the voting form using your windows login details and pick your top three favourite posters.

View and vote for your posters by clicking here.

Voting closes on Monday 5 February.

Your votes will go towards supporting the teams you pick as the popular staff vote.

Enjoy viewing the posters and finding out about the great quality improvement initiatives taking place across our workplace and encourage your colleagues to do so too.

Join the shared reading sessions

 

The library services are continuing their new reading initiative to encourage employees to get involved in reading and to be a part of a community of like-minded individuals who enjoy reading.

Unlike a normal book club, colleagues won’t be expected to read a book prior to the meeting and will read texts, books, and poems together and then discuss them and share any lived experiences relating to the topic.

The session dates are as follows:

  • Tuesday 16 January via MS Teams
  • Thursday 25 January, Sandwell Education Centre
  • Thursday 8 February, Sandwell Education Centre
  • Wednesday 14 February, D29, City Hospital
  • Tuesday 20 February via MS Teams
  • Wednesday 13 March, D29 City Hospital
  • Tuesday 19 March, via MS Teams
  • Thursday 28 March, Sandwell Education Centre.

All sessions will run between, 12.30 pm – 1pm

If you have any further questions please contact the library services, via email or ext. 3587.

iRefer CDS – did you know?

 

iRefer CDS has now been live at SWB for six weeks. The system uses the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) guidelines to support clinical decision making and help ensure our patients receive the most appropriate investigation.

Whilst the RCR guideline catalogue is comprehensive, we are continuing to improve and add to the guidance that is provided to ensure the system works as best as possible for us.

When iRefer CDS launches, the “smart list” of reasons for imaging is displayed as shown below. This list changes based on what individual users request most frequently.

If the reason is not displayed in the list, type the reason into the search bar as shown below and select the appropriate reason.

If the primary reason does not appear, please type the reason and submit as free text using the orange “Submit Free Text” button. Please do not choose a reason that is not relevant.

Using the “Submit Free Text” button helps us to identify where guidance needs to be created or amended and improves the system for future requests.

Should you have any feedback on how we can continue to improve the system, please use the submit feedback button on the left side of the window.

Further information is available on the Connect page.

Managers leading change – Carol Appleyard

 

As part of our move to Midland Met, managers throughout the organisation will be required to lead on change with their teams to enable some changes to either take place prior to the move to Midland Met and/ or support colleagues as we move towards our future care model.

We caught up with Carol Appleyard, Lead Alcohol Nurse, to find out she got to grips with her management of change training.

What manager training did you complete as part of the management of change process?

As part of the management of change process, I have completed the mandatory managers briefing training and Midland Met change training. 

How did you book it and how long did it last?

I booked the training after being invited via email. Each training session was approximately 60 minutes via Teams.

What topics were covered?

The topics we covered included being introduced to the team supporting the Trust through the Midland Met changes, a group discussion around our experiences of change in our careers, potential reactions to change from colleagues, my responsibilities as a line manager and looking at the Midland Met change toolkit. 

How has it helped you as a manager prepare for colleague conversations?

The training has been a great reminder that everyone deals with change differently, and it has given me valuable tools to handle any difficult conversations that may arise. 

I am excited to move to Midland Met, but some colleagues may have different views. Therefore, learning how to manage this change effectively is crucial.

Is there any other information that you’d like to share?

Having group discussions with colleagues in the Trust was very beneficial. It helped me understand that the move to Midland Met will have different impacts on people, and we must support each other during this transition. 

Upcoming sessions:

Wednesday, 24 January 2024

  • 9.30am – 11am – Leading with a coaching mindset
  • 11.30am – 1pm – Solutions focused approach
  • 1.30pm – 3pm – Managing resilience through change
  • 3.30pm – 5pm – Managing wellbeing in self and others

If you are a manager and would like to book onto a session to learn about how to support your colleagues, there are several training dates advertised on Connect.

To secure your place please visit Change Training – MMUH. Alternatively, please contact the change management team at swbh.hrchangemanagement@nhs.net.

Upgrade affecting Unity clinical systems and processes: 24 January, 10pm – 1am

 

Please be aware an essential upgrade will be taking place on Wednesday 24 January from 10pm overnight until Thursday 25 January at 1am which will affect Unity clinical systems and processes. The upgrade provides the Trust with a long term supported version of the Rhapsody Integration Engine which provides the flow of activity messages between iPM PAS and Unity, electronic orders and results into Unity.

During this time Unity will remain available. However, the systems detailed below will be temporarily unavailable from 10pm until midnight for up to two hours:

  • iPM can be used as normal, HOWEVER, brand new patients to the trust should be allocated a prenumbered RXK label and iPM updated as per ED BC plans for new patients not already on iPM. The allocated RXK number will become the patients actual RXK number, and can be used immediately for ordering any diagnostic investigations via the BCP processes.
  • Patients new to the Trust will not be visible in Medisoft – full BCP required.
  • Orders placed in Unity will not go to Radiology/Pathology during this time but will be sent once the systems come back up – BCP 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 ED will not show up in iPM until the systems are back up.
  • Inpatients transferred between Wards will show on Capman and Unity 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.
  • Any new baby registrations will not be able to be completed until the systems are back up – BCP required.

Colleagues will need to ensure they revert to BCPs for blood tests and Imaging requests during this time. Other Unity functionality such as documentation and Meds Admin will not be affected by this activity. Desktop alerts will be issued advising colleagues about the planned downtime.

Midland Met childcare survey

 

As we prepare for the opening of Midland Met Hospital, we are committed to ensuring that our colleagues needs are met including those related to childcare.

To achieve this, we are conducting a survey to better understand your childcare requirements and preferences. Your input is invaluable to us as it will help us design childcare support programmes that cater for your needs.

Please complete this short survey which will take approximately five minutes to finish. Your responses will remain confidential and information collected will be used for the purposes of improving our childcare offering for you.

Click here to complete the survey

If you have any questions or require assistance with the survey please feel free to contact Emma Collier, Nursery Manager or Toni Carr, Deputy Nursery Manager at Sandwell Day Nursery on 0121 507 3566.

Join the shared reading group sessions

 

The library services are continuing their new reading initiative to encourage employees to get involved in reading and to be a part of a community of like-minded individuals who enjoy reading.

Unlike a normal book club, colleagues won’t be expected to read a book prior to the meeting and will read texts, books, and poems together and then discuss them and share any lived experiences relating to the topic.

The next session is running on Wednesday 10 January, 12.30pm – 1pm on D29 at City.

If you have any further questions please contact the library services, via email or ext. 3587.

Heartbeat: Midland Met mythbusters – Bringing an end to the misinformation

 

We recently celebrated our latest announcement for the Midland Metropolitan Hospital alongside the NHS’s 74th Birthday – finally being able to set a firm opening date for our new acute hospital which will open its doors to patients in 2024.

However, the Midland Met has had its fair share of controversies as we have battled a global pandemic, supply chain issues and rising construction costs. Many of these have unfortunately led to myths and misinformation about the project taking hold.

Whilst as a Trust we have always been open and honest about the issues we have faced on our journey to completing Midland Met, it’s clear that there are some questions that colleagues are keen to have answered, and today we will set the record straight.

Myth: Met is subsiding into the canal

We are able to categorically confirm that the Midland Met is not subsiding into the canal; there have never been any issues with the construction of the new hospital that have had any risk or impact related to the building being developed close to the canal. The canal remains a crucial part of the development offering colleagues, patients and the community a peaceful and idyllic route into the new development avoiding traffic and congestion. Planned works have commenced around the canal wall edge to improve the appearance and meet the development requirements.

Myth: The concrete is crumbling

Construction of the new building has been reviewed and approved throughout every stage of the development, and there are no issues with the quality of construction of concrete used. Whilst there was some staining to plasterwork caused through damp penetrating the building during a pause in construction, this was superficial and quickly repaired when Balfour Beatty was appointed to complete the construction.

Myth: Staff will have to reapply for their own jobs

Whilst it is clear that with the relocation of services to the Midland Met and the acute care model there will be a need for change for some of our staff including changes in base, any changes will be supported by our management of change programme. Partnership work is at the heart of our approach. We will work closely with our Trade Union partners to agree change management principles and take a collective view on our approaches to each core element of change that is identified. Current baseline assessments confirm that we will require a larger workforce than we have currently budgeted for, the new models will allow more opportunity to develop and reach desired career aspirations.

Myth: All support services are being privatised

We are able to confirm that there are no plans to privatise all our support services.

Myth: There are not enough beds at Midland Met

Midland Met will have 739 beds when opened and will focus on delivering our new acute model of care. This means that outpatient clinics, day case surgery and routine diagnostics will be provided from the Sandwell and City Hospital sites. In addition, the full range of community services we offer will continue and be developed further.

For Midland Met to work we need to ensure that we have sufficient community services in place to support reduced admissions and allow people to move out of hospital as soon as they are ready. This is why the biggest transformation required is on those services out in the community.

Myth: Departments don’t know when and where they are moving to MMUH

Each clinical group has a MMUH board with knowledge of where departments are relocating to. Queries should be made to departmental leads. Moving plans will be developed over the next few months to include induction plans and will be shared through clinical groups’ MMUH boards. Corporate preparedness planning will commence in the next few months.

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