Monthly archives: March 2024

Support available for staff during Ramadan

There will be a supply of dates and water for those who may need it throughout Ramadan. Our chaplaincy team and members of the Muslim Liason Group ( MLG) will be working together to ensure colleagues are supported throughout the period.

If you require water or dates, from Monday 10 March through to the end of the fasting season, they will be available in the following locations:

• Prayer rooms at the BTC, next to D11 and the Chapel at City Hospital
• Prayer room ( before the main chapel) at Sandwell
• Prayer room, Ground Floor at Rowley
• Staff room, Leasowes.

If you require any help or support throughout Ramadan, please contact the chaplaincy team on Sandwell ext. 3557 or City ext .5051.

What is Ramadan? Muslims around the world fast during daylight hours, meaning they abstain from eating, drinking or engaging in sexual relations during the duration of their fast. Young children, the old, the sick, travelers, and women who are breastfeeding or menstruating are examples of those who are exempt from fasting. Click here to find out more.

Ramadan: Supporting colleagues who are fasting

Fasting plays an important role in many major religions and is a central feature in all the Abrahamic faiths. In Islam, adult Muslims, who are able to, are required to fast during the month of Ramadan. The period of fasting has commenced and is expected to last through to Sunday 1 May.

Advice for line managers:

1. Do not make assumptions about who in your team may be observing Ramadan – Islam is a faith that welcomes people of all races and backgrounds.
2. Observing Ramadan may not be noticeable so make it easy for your team members to let you know if they are fasting.
3. If you manage a colleague who will be observing Ramadan, ensure you have some one-to-one time to discuss any workplace adjustments that can be considered.
4. Fasting can affect people in different ways (for example, some people may understandably become a little quieter or slightly tired at times, even though most staff have fed back that their productivity increased after the first few days).
5. Dignity and respect from managers and colleagues are helpful and expected. Be aware that fasting colleagues will not even be drinking any fluid (including water) and they may therefore feel less energetic and even less inclined to join in office conversations on occasions – don’t take it personally and ensure communication can be made in other ways where possible.
6. Workplace adjustments should not impact negatively on patient care. Managers and their colleagues can discuss and consider options such as occasional working from home where appropriate to the role and individual circumstances, core hour working where time can be made up in lieu, and provision for paid and unpaid leave where viable. When Ramadan falls in the summer months it can be particularly challenging, as the days are longer.
7. If members of the team observing Ramadan feel comfortable doing so, encourage them to give short presentations and encourage normal discussions about Ramadan and how the team can best support them.
8. Colleagues who are fasting will not expect others, who are not observing Ramadan to do the same, so please don’t feel anxious about making a cup of tea for the team or eating your lunch. However, please be sensitive by not continually offering them a food and drink.
9. You may find that some colleagues request up two weeks annual leave towards the end of Ramadan to help focus on and intensify their acts of worship. This should be treated as any other annual leave request, therefore managers should use their judgement to ensure that negative impact on the team and patient care is mitigated against but should try and accommodate as fully as possible.
10. Please ensure colleagues have reasonable time during the day to complete prayers and an appropriate space is allocated for this purpose.
11. If the prayer room will be closed for cleaning or for some other reason please ensure that staff are given enough notice, and reasonable alternative facilities have been provided during the closure. 

For more information about Ramadan, please visit the NHS Guidance here.

Spotlight on Midland Met in the Sandwell Herald

Fostering connections with our local communities and actively keeping them informed is essential as we progress towards opening Midland Met.

To help us keep the conversation going around our new hospital and all that it will bring to the communities it serves, we’ve recently shared an advert in the Sandwell Herald.

An exclusive update from our CEO, Richard Beeken, shines a spotlight on the innovations and what people can expect when we welcome patients later this year.

Turn to pages 14-15 to get the latest scoop on Midland Met.

Are you including your full address when ordering food for your ward or area?

We are receiving an increasing number of complaints from local residents near our hospital sites who are having food delivered to their properties in error, out of hours.

If you are ordering food externally to be delivered to your ward or area, please ensure you are including the full address for the food delivery and providing a contact number where possible to avoid residents being disturbed. For example, if you are ordering food at Sandwell, please do not put the address as just Lyndon, but instead include the floor where you are based as well as the name of your ward (if applicable) so drivers know they are delivering to the hospital and not a resident who lives on Lyndon.

Tree of Hope service at Leasowes: 22 March

Colleagues are invited to attend a service of dedication at Leasowes on Friday 22 March, 1.30pm in remembrance of loved ones and colleagues who have passed away in our care.

The ‘Tree of Hope’ is being installed as a lasting memorial to those we have lost.

US-guided vascular access and ICD simulation training sessions now available

US-guided vascular access sessions are now available for staff.

US-guided vascular access provides training on how to use cannulas during an ultrasound and when struggling to access difficult veins.

ICD training focuses on simulation training to learn how to put in chest drains into patients.

These session times available for US-guided training are:

• Monday 11 March from 1pm – 2pm and 2pm – 3pm in tutorial room 5, Postgraduate Centre, City
• Tuesday 12 March from 1pm – 2pm and 2pm – 3pm in tutorial room 5, Postgraduate Centre City
• Monday 18 March from 1pm – 2pm and 2pm – 3pm in tutorial room 5, Postgraduate Centre, City
• Tuesday 19 March from 1pm – 2pm and 2pm – 3pm in tutorial room 5, Postgraduate Centre City
• Monday 25 March from 1pm – 2pm and 2pm – 3pm – room 6, Postgraduate Centre

If you would like to register please click the below link:

US-guided vascular access: US-guided vascular access training sessions 2024 (signupgenius.com)

ICD training sessions are available. To enrol email sonia.kumar5@nhs.net

• Thursday 14 March from 1 pm – 5pm
• Thursday 11 April from 1pm – 5pm

Successful Scott shakes hands with parliamentary leaders in London

Scott Shenton, winner of the Apprentice of the Year for Health and Education at this year’s Black Country Ladder Foundation was invited along with other previous winners to shake hands with RH Robert Halfon, Minister of State for Department for Education.

Helen Colbourne, Apprenticeship Training Provider Manager, said: “It’s not every day you get to meet government leaders and discuss Apprenticeships. We are so pleased for Scott and the hard work he put in to achieve this award.”

Scott undertook his Level 3 Team Leader / Supervisor Apprenticeship which took 15-18 months to complete and consisted of, team building and development, problem-solving and data analysis to name a few. If you are interested in becoming a Team leader within your current role or wish to find out more about our apprenticeships here at the Trust.

The apprenticeship team is running two online information sessions for those who wish to find out more, to register your interest, contact the team using the email below.

These will be held on

• Tuesday 12 March from 1 pm – 2 pm
• Thursday 14 March 9 am – 10 am

Alternatively, contact the team on 0121 507 6425 or email swbh.apprenticeship@nhs.net.

Travel to work survey

The Trust is exploring how colleagues travel to/from work. We are working with local bus travel providers to support colleagues getting to/from work once Midland Metropolitan University Hospital (MMUH) opens. The results will be used to facilitate bus route planning, frequency of buses and discounted travel.

If you wish to complete this survey, please click here.

Pathology department change of open hours on weekends

From Saturday 2 March, the main doors into the pathology department at City will be open from 9.15am to 1pm on Saturday and Sunday.

All deliveries or collections from pathology or any department other than blood transfusion should use this entrance. For any deliveries or collections for blood transfusion should continue to use the  blood transfusion door.

All deliveries or collections after 1pm must contact the relevant department via the intercom, for blood transfusion please continue to use the blood transfusion door.

Drug safety notice: Salbutamol nebules

There will be a limited supply of  Salbutamol 2.5mg/2.5ml and 5mg /2.5 ml nebules until further notice. Unlicensed supplies of salbutamol nebuliser liquid have been sourced, however, lead times may vary.

For advice and alternative solutions, please see Safety Notice – Salbutamol 2.5mg

For more information please contact the pharmacy department on ext. 5263/3783.