Monthly archives: March 2024
Basic Life Support ( BLS) sessions available
Basic Life Support sessions will now be available for staff to attend at both Sandwell and City.
Sessions at Sandwell run every Monday, Sandwell Education Centre, 2pm – 3pm.
Sessions at City run every Friday at D26, 7.45am – 8.45am
If you would like to book a session, please visit SharePoint.
For more information, please email swb-tr.SWBH-GM-resuscitation-team@nhs.net.
Newly updated dysphagia e-learning now available
The dysphagia e-learning programme has recently been updated to help healthcare staff better manage the condition with people in care homes, hospitals and community settings.
Dysphagia, which is difficulty chewing and/or swallowing food and drinks, has serious implications for a person’s health and wellbeing, with increased likelihood of chest infections, malnutrition, dehydration, choking incidents and hospitalisations. Patients with dysphagia may be unable to swallow their medicines safely.
The programme has been updated to align with Level 2 of the Eating, Drinking and Swallowing Competency Framework. It is now easy for learners to compete the essentials sessions (below) as a specific training course with an assessment and certificate to evidence their learning.
Once the essential sessions are completed the others can be explored at leisure.
The updated sessions are now called:
- Essentials – health and care staff
- Essentials – cooks
- Managers
- Balancing risk and end of life care
- Training resources and recipes
- Dysphagia and medicines
The ability to use the guide as a ‘dip in and out’ resource has been retained so that learners can easily refresh their memory or help explain something to a colleague.
Care home staff, including managers, nurses, care workers, catering staff and the wider NHS team, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, speech and language therapists, dietitians, and others working with patients with dysphagia will find this resource helpful.
It has been updated by Sheffield Teaching Hospitals Trust and NHS England e-learning for healthcare.
For more information and to access the updated content, please visit the Dysphagia programme page.
Black Country ICS equality, diversity, and inclusion conference: 7 June
Black Country Integrated Care System ( ICS) is hosting an Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion conference on Friday 7 June from 9.15am through to 4.30pm at Walsall Football Club.
How do I register my interest to attend?
To register your interest, please complete the registration form and note any access or dietary requirements. Once registered, further information will be sent to you.
Please register your attendance by Wednesday 10 April. Please email bcicb.workforce@nhs.net for any further queries.
To view more information about the event along with the ICS EDI strategy, click here.
Updates to existing telephone system at SWB
We are currently engaged in a project to modernise the existing telephony system across the Trust, tied in with our preparations for our move to MMUH.
Upcoming changes:
A new IP/Network based phone system: We are transitioning from outdated analog lines that have been present at our sites for many years, to a modern IP-based telephone system which will provide a more reliable and resilient service. For the majority of the trust, the equipment and processes you use will not be affected. Areas that will be seeing changes to their telephony are being contacted directly via department leads.
Softphones are to be replaced: The current 8×8 platform is to be phased out over the coming month in line with the introduction of Mitel MiCollab, a more modern softphone solution that will provide all the current functionality of 8×8, with greater reliability and ease-of-use. The Telephony project team have already begun reaching out to users of this platform to make staff aware of the upcoming changes and how this may affect them.
Liberty contact centre tool to be updated: The current Liberty platform is to be upgraded to its most recent iteration, now known as Liberty Converse. This upgrade comes with all the expected functionality that you may have seen with Liberty in the past but introduces new features such as the ability to manage email queues, Rota scheduling, Generation of reports and Staff performance management. The project team has reached out to contact centre leads to advise of these coming changes, as well as offering training support to aid a smooth transition period.
The project team has opened a shared mailbox for any Trust colleagues who may have concerns or questions about any of the above changes. If you wish to contact them, please email swbh.telephony.modernisation@nhs.net.
Trust welcomes two new Associate Non-Executive Directors
Amrick Singh and Atif Ali join at a pivotal moment for Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust as staff prepare for a once-in-a-lifetime move to a state-of-the-art new hospital.
Trust Chairman Sir David Nicholson commented: “Personally I’m delighted that Amrick and Atif have joined the team in this exceptional year for the organisation – where we look forward to the opening of the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital.
“In a health landscape full of challenge, we are focussed on keeping our patients in the centre of all that we do, and much as our staff represent the communities we serve so should our board. Strengthening the board with the talents of our new associates is good news for our population, as they will play a significant role in driving the positive changes to come for the organisation and all those we care for.”
Currently Director of the Nishkam Centre, Amrick Singh has a professional background which is diverse and varied. He is an innovative, forward thinking Organisational Development Consultant and Transformation Manager. As a Sikh, a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, Fellow at Royal Society for Arts and Fellow at the Institute of Leadership Management, he is passionate about growing and developing the capacity of those around him to excel and play active roles. His other roles include governorships at schools and several Board and Steering Group responsibilities supporting community engagement, cohesion, and social development.
On his appointment, Amrick said: “It is an honour and privilege to be appointed to the Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust Board. The transformation of health and care is a phenomenal opportunity to make real change. We saw the existing disadvantage and deprivation in the region further exacerbated and exposed by the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on communities and from the challenges of Covid. I look forward to engaging with staff, the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sectors on furthering critical engagement and trust building to improve health outcomes.
“I am confident that by overcoming organisational challenges, aligning plans and strategies to provide support to communities and service users, through innovation and new ways of working, as a trusted go-to-institution, the Trust will continue to make essential improvements to our population’s health and wellbeing. I hope my skills, support and scrutiny will enable us collectively as a Board to tackle poor health, inequalities and improve service provision, especially with the new Midland Metropolitan University Hospital coming to fruition.”
As a seasoned Project and Programme Manager, Atif Ali has a proven track record of establishing deliverables across designated projects and navigating critical project challenges. His expertise extends to in-house resource development and strategic project management, underpinned by a Master’s in Law (LLM) from the University of Birmingham and a Bachelor’s in Law (LLB) from the University of Wolverhampton. These qualifications equip him with the legal acumen and analytical skills necessary to effectively oversee complex and diverse projects.
During his tenure at Birmingham City Council, Atif spearheaded the successful delivery of the Birmingham and Lewisham African Caribbean Health Inequalities Review (BLACHIR). This pivotal initiative positively impacted local communities by addressing social determinants of health. He also served as the Vice-Chair of the Employee’s Network of Corporate Black Workers Support Group, where he demonstrated exceptional leadership by significantly increasing membership, enhancing engagement, and optimising the group’s budget. In recognition of his outstanding service to the community, Atif was honoured with the British Empire Medal (BEM) and the British Citizens Award. Passionate about effecting positive change in the public sector, Atif is dedicated to empowering others through his adept leadership, strong negotiation skills, and effective communication strategies. His commitment to driving meaningful impact and fostering inclusivity underscores his role as a catalyst for progress within the healthcare landscape.
Atif said: “I am truly honoured to join the esteemed Trust Board at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust as an Associate Non-Executive Director. I look forward to working with fellow board members, stakeholders, and staff to drive innovation, improve patient outcomes, and uphold the Trust’s commitment to excellence in healthcare delivery. Together, we can make a meaningful difference in the lives of those we serve and continue to build a healthier, more inclusive future for our community, in line with the Trust’s strategic objectives of prioritising Patients, People, and Population.”
Routine requests for same day and advanced payments will be declined
We have recently been receiving an increased number of requests for advanced payments due to shifts not being finalised on the system in time. Processing advanced payments involves multiple departments including Trust bank, finance, and payroll. Such requests should only be made in exceptional circumstances. Shifts must be finalised by Saturday 9am. If you need to grant access to another staff member to finalise shifts, please do so promptly.
Going forward we will now monitor wards, departments and areas for such requests, and routine ones will be declined. We must remind colleagued it’s crucial to finalise bank shifts by the correct deadline to ensure payment for the following week.
For more information please email swb-tr.trustbankrequest@nhs.net.
Alcohol Care Team reduced service from 1 April
Due to staff shortages, the Alcohol Care Team will have a temporarily reduced service from Monday 1 April until further notice.
Their service will run as normal, Monday – Friday 8 am – 6 pm, the service will not be running over the weekend or bank holidays.
If you have any questions regarding the service, please contact Carol Appleyard, Lead Alcohol Nurse on 0121 507 5074 / 4487
Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 15 March
Over the past few weeks, we have been progressing with the final elements of build for our new hospital, The Midland Met (MMUH). I was delighted to see that signage going up at Midland Met both on the outside and inside of the building, which shows that we are on the home straight now to open later this year.
As we move with pace towards opening there have been many interactive workshops and away days to support the move planning. During the month, our colleagues met to hold a workshop to discuss and action an interim solution for the Urgent Treatment Centre at MMUH on patient day one. This is essential to creating the right support to ensure that we fit safely in the new hospital and our patients are provided with the right alternatives at the front door when they need care from us.
We also held a Critical Providers workshop where other organisations from across the system met with colleagues from the MMUH Programme to ensure that they are ready to support the opening of our new hospital without causing delay to opening or impact on quality of care. I heard that it was a productive and enthusiastic and showed the great support that we have from those working with us across the system to ensure a safe, efficient and timely move. Others are nearly as excited about this as we are!
In February, the MMUH Programme Company also held one of the monthly ‘ Away Days’ which focussed, with our Clinical Services Teams, on delivering success and operational readiness. Teams focussed on bed fit, patient pathways and service interdependencies and recruitment. It was well attended, and the day was lively and informative as well as really interactive with great contributions and energy from our brilliant clinical and operational leadership teams.
In addition, I was delighted to attend a recent engagement event with our local GPs in Ladywood and Perry Barr . As with all engagement sessions, I hope that they will be open and honest whilst remaining a safe space to have candid conversations. This event was just that , a productive and challenging debate and most importantly whilst MMUH was the backdrop, discussions were focused about what is best for our patients, people and population. Thank you to those who have organised recent events and those that attended.
We are now moving closer to what we call “soft activation” on our Ready, Set , Go trajectory for MMUH and this feels like an important and exciting milestone – more on that in the next few weeks.
Today Lord Markham and members of the New Hospital Programme (NHP) along with exec leads from Balfour Beatty met with MMUH Managing Director, Rachel Barlow for a tour of progress on site. The minister who also visited just before Christmas , met colleagues Ian Oliver, Steve Hill and Michaeal Jequier, who are all heavily involved in the activation part of the programme in areas of logistics, soft FM, and security.
Lord Markham is Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care and Lead Minister with responsibility for the NHP.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to date, it certainly is all hands-on deck now.
Job vacancies at West Bromwich African Caribbean Resource Centre ( WBACRC)
West Bromwich African Caribbean Resource Centre is looking to fill a variety of vacancies within its organisation.
Your Trust Charity works closely with the organisation focusing on health and wellbeing within community care and outreach within the local community.
The following jobs are available:
Team Leader
Support Worker
- Day Care Support Worker JD 05.03. 2024
- WBACRC HWB Day Care Support Worker Advert – Short Version Updated 05.03.2024
To find out more information about the organisation, visit its website here.
Progress update – new signage installed at Midland Met
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