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Monthly archives: September 2024

Mock CQC visits to prepare for the real deal

 

This week, we welcomed members of the New Hospital Programme (NHP) to Midland Met as part of our preparations for the upcoming CQC visit. These mock sessions were crucial, giving our teams the chance to get ready for the real visits which will take place on 17 – 18 September.

These visits are an important milestone for us. We’re working towards registering Midland Met as an additional location under our existing CQC registration for Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust.

Kam Dhami, our Chief Governance Officer, shared her thoughts and said: “This NHP visit was a valuable opportunity for staff to ask questions and ensure they’re fully prepared for the CQC visits next week.”

Watch the full update from Kam Dhami here.

Kevin Thomas, Lead Radiographer, shares his views on the mock CQC preparations.

Roslyn Granada, Endoscopy Move Champion, tells us how he’s preparing for the CQC visit.

Trac recruitment training sessions now available for managers

 

The recruitment team are now hosting trac training sessions every two weeks, the dates for the rest of this year are listed below.

Trac is the recruitment system used for the whole process, from setting up your vacancy to be approved and advertised to pre-employment checks and arranging start dates.

We will also cover any updates to processes and important information surrounding various parts of the process. Whether you are a new user or already use the system but would like some advice and tips, we will be able to help.

Note: New users will not be able to create an account on Trac until they have attended one of these sessions. 

For anyone with an existing Trac account, the team will identify those who have attended a session and mark this on your account.

To book on please log on to ESR, go to your Learning Homepage and search for ‘Recruitment’ or ‘Trac’ and you’ll find 381 Recruitment Trac Training.

The upcoming dates are:

  • Friday 27 September, 10am – 11.30am
  • Thursday 10 October, 10.30am -12pm
  • Friday 25 October, 10am – 11.30am
  • Thursday 7 November, 10.30am – 12pm
  • Friday 22 November, 10am – 11.30am
  • Thursday 5 December, 10.30am – 12pm
  • Thursday 19 December, 10.30am – 12pm

For more information, a copy of the presentation can be found here.

Community of Practice Research events – September 2024 – May 2025

 

The Research and Development team will be hosting a series of virtual sessions that cover a range of topics on all things research.

The sessions will be one hour ‘formal teaching’ with the second hour being an interactive, ask the expert and sharing of practice/experiences.

Please see below for event topics and dates:

  • Developing Research Ideas – Tuesday 17 September
  • PPIE – Tuesday 19 November
  • Writing for Publication and Dissemination – Tuesday 21 January
  • Introduction to Statistics – Tuesday 18 March
  • Developing Grant Applications – Tuesday 20 May

You can attend any or all of the sessions. If you have an interest in research, then please consider attending.

To book onto a session, please email swbh.randd.generic@nhs.net to be sent the calendar invite.

Financial Improvement Programme: New pre-assessment DNA/OTDC tracker for theatre efficiency

 

As part of our ongoing Financial Improvement Programme (FIP), we will be sharing regular updates on our progress and highlighting key areas of work.

Through the Theatre Efficiency and Productivity Workstream, we’ve developed and implemented a new tracker within the surgical services pre-assessment and booking teams. This tracker monitors patients who Did Not Attend (DNA) their pre-assessment appointment or had an On The Day Cancellation (OTDC). An OTDC occurs when a patient cancels with less than 24 hours’ notice or when a clinic is cancelled for clinical or non-clinical reasons. A DNA, on the other hand, refers to a patient missing their appointment without any prior notice.

The impact of DNAs and OTDCs at pre-assessment includes:

  • Cancelled surgery dates that must be rescheduled
  • Increased waiting times for pre-assessment and surgery appointments
  • Wasted resources, including pre-assessment slots, admin time, and theatre staff time

Introducing the DNA/OTDC tracker will help reduce wasted TCI dates for surgery appointments by:

  • Ensuring DNAs and OTDCs are recorded and visible in real time
  • Facilitating quicker rebooking of pre-assessment appointments before a patient’s target date
  • Allowing more time to schedule alternative patients

Ultimately, the tracker will allow the booking team to rebook patients more efficiently, while collecting valuable data about why patients cancel or miss appointments. This will lead to improved theatre productivity, allowing more patients to be scheduled for surgery, reducing lost surgical time, and enhancing the patient experience. Importantly, it will also contribute to income generation, helping us meet the £44m target for this financial year.

We would like to thank Jenna O’Connor, Natalie Cutmore, Loraine Burrell, and Christine Billingham from the pre-assessment team, as well as Jaron Kooner and Claire Collett from the booking team, along with the Pre-Assessment Task and Finish Group, for their hard work in developing this impactful solution. This is a great example of how a small change can make a big difference.

Progress Tracker:

  • FIP target: £44.1m
  • FIP identified: £31.2m (risk-adjusted)
  • FIP delivered: £9.2m
  • Left to be identified: £3.7m (8 per cent)
  • Left to be delivered: £34.3m (78 per cent)

Do you have some thoughts on how we can improve our productivity? How about some ideas for cost improvement projects? Then we want to hear from you – often people working on the front line have the best ideas and this is your opportunity to have your voice heard. No idea is a bad idea.

You can submit your ideas via this online form: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/financialimprovement

Corporate Parenting Awareness

 

The Black Country Integrated Care Board and Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust have been raising awareness for the health needs of Children and Young People in Care on Wednesday 11 September.

With an aim to remind health professionals of their corporate responsibly to meet health needs, the team are joined by partners from Sandwell Childrens Trust Fostering services, who are promoting the role of foster carers for those wanting to find out more.

Come and speak to the team at Sandwell Main Reception, by the lifts until 2pm today.

NHS George Cross badges available

 

Last year, colleagues across the Trust were awarded NHS George Cross badges. As part of the handout, the communications team has a collection of badges that weren’t collected from staff during the initial event.

Note: Stock is limited, so it’s first come, first served.

If you haven’t got a badge or would like another one, then please email hermione.crump@nhs.net.

Save the date – Freedom to Speak Up Conference: 25 October

 

We are excited to announce our first ever Black Country Freedom to Speak Up Conference as part of Freedom to Speak Up month this October. Staff from across our local Black Country Integrated Care System are invited to attend this key event as part of our commitment to make speaking up business as usual for everyone.

The conference will take place on Friday 25 October, 9am – 3.30pm via the Microsoft Teams platform.

Join us for a day of insightful discussions and inspiring talks from a range of speakers. The conference will focus on the power of listening and encouraging everyone to feel confident to speak up.

We know that you are busy and might not be able to commit to a full-day. You’ll be able to drop-in and out of different sessions during the day.

To join the conference, please click here.

For more information please email jamiljohnson@nhs.net

User testing our new staff portal – we need your help!

 

We are planning on launching our new staff portal, SPARC later this year. However, we are interested in gather user feedback in terms of functionalities and ease of use both on a laptop and a smartphone.

If you are interested in taking part in, please email louise.brown25@nhs.net.

Any feedback on the portal will be greatly appreciated as this will allow us to ensure the best possible platform for end users when we officially launch in winter 2024.

Drug Safety Notice – Phenytoin solution for injection ampoules

 

Problem

  • Phenytoin 250mg in 5ml Solution for Injection Ampoules are unavailable from suppliers
  • Anticipated re-supply date is TBC later in September 2024

Action

  • Ensure remaining supplies are preserved for use in priority indications and clinical areas e.g. in epilepsy or status epilepticus.
  • In non-priority clinical indications, review and consider the alternatives below

For alternatives, supporting information and key resources – click here.

Logistics in full swing pushing towards 6 October

 

MLR, the company behind our AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles), is back at Midland Met for testing and training this week. These AGVs will play a key role in the routine movement of goods, supplies and waste management around the hospital, working alongside our logistics team.

Mike Hanson, Director of Procurement and Logistics, shares an update as we’re seeing great progress with logistics across the board, with racking now being installed on wards. Teams are coming together to ensure everything’s ready for our big move on 6 October. Get the full update

Get the full update here.

 

 

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