Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 31 January
January 31, 2020
Dr David Carruthers, Medical Director
Toby Lewis is away
Congratulations to this week’s Star of the Week, Sheilah Kamupira, a neonatal consultant, nominated by her colleague for her excellent care. During a recent shift when the neonatal team were under considerable pressure, Sheilah stepped forward and supported the team to continue providing the amazing care they are known for.
Next week the public Trust Board will hear progress on our quality plan which is focused on projects that will improve the health of our patients, aiming to achieve outcomes that rank us among the top providers either within the region or nationally. Lots of good work has been done already but there will be a role for everyone in delivering this plan that includes reducing unplanned readmissions, improving end of life care, team working for adolescent care and transition from paediatric to adult services, and improving outcomes for our cancer patients, to mention a few examples. These will be important pieces of work as we prepare our services for the move into Midland Met, so look out for more information and how you can play your part.
Thank you to everyone who is working hard to keep our sites free from tobacco smoke and well done to everyone who has used this opportunity to quit smoking – we know it is not easy. For those who have switched to vaping I hope you have been able to reduce your vape use over time with the aim of withdrawal altogether. Remember, vaping is just one of many ways to quit smoking and is still not something that is encouraged for non-smokers to start. Our own stop smoking advisors start on our sites soon for patients, and colleagues can continue to access our stop smoking clinics with free NRT at work. This is one part of our public health goals to improve the health and wellbeing of staff and our local communities. Having a healthy workforce is really important for us and we are further developing our plans in this area in coming weeks.
Infection control is at the forefront of many people’s minds as the coronavirus has this week been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organisation. Thank you to all our clinicians who are supporting worried patients and the teams ensuring that we are well prepared should any cases present to our emergency departments. We have arrangements in place for patients to be isolated and well cared for within our hospitals and detailed guidance on what to do from Public Health England who are monitoring the situation closely.
Importantly, we are also making a change to other infection control practices by introducing MRSA screening from tomorrow (Saturday 1 February) in ED of every patient who needs admission. If a patient arrives on your ward and there is no record of a MRSA screen this should be done on the ward and the results must be checked.
In the coming weeks, look out for our promotional activity on organ donation and bone marrow transplants. Signing up to be a donor is vital in offering patients the best chance of survival for certain critical conditions. The law will change in the Spring to an opt-out system and you can find out more here. We will also be working with DKMS to share information on how you can register as a potential blood stem cell donor.
From tomorrow we will celebrate LGBT History Month which is nicely timed with the relaunch of our LGBT Staff Network on Tuesday 4 February. Do come along and support the network at the Education Centre in Sandwell (room 9) between 2pm and 5pm. You can also show your support by wearing an NHS rainbow badge and play a valuable part in reducing stigma and inequality. The rainbow badge shows that our organisation offers open, non-judgemental and inclusive care for children, young people and their families, who identify as LGBT+ – lesbian, gay, bisexual. If you would like an NHS rainbow badge please contact swb-tr.SWBH-GM-EqualityDiversity@nhs.net.
And finally, we bid farewell to Dr Julian Chilvers, Anaesthetist and Director of Medical Education who is moving on to new challenges, maintaining his important educational work for Health Education England in the region. You will be missed. Many thanks for your significant role in supporting trainees and education supervisors, developing simulation training and contributing to the vision for education delivery in the Trust when Midland Med opens.