Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 16 October
October 16, 2020
National and local Covid restrictions came into force this week which has an impact on our daily lives as well as our working practices. You will know that Birmingham and Sandwell are now in tier 2 meaning high alert level and household mixing is now restricted indoors. People who can work from home are urged to do so and our work from home guidance remains in place. We are seeing steady numbers of patients admitted with Covid into hospital beds and numbers in intensive care fluctuates on a daily basis. We are working closely with partners in the region, as we always do, on intensive care arrangements to make sure that patients who need it get access to the right critical care services.
You will have seen that we have slightly changed the data we are reporting weekly through the Covid bulletin. We are keeping data related to the first surge and have started a new line with case numbers reported from 1 September. This hopefully gives you a better idea of how numbers are changing in relation to this current phase of the pandemic. We have also pulled out the numbers of staff involved in the SIREN study separately. This study is for healthcare workers, whether or not you have had the virus, and will help understand how the virus is spread and what impact it can have on individual’s health in the short and longer-term. Any healthcare professional can sign up and I would urge you to do so. I joined up yesterday and would like to see many more recruits. To find out more and sign up please go to https://connect2.swbh.nhs.uk/staff-covid-19-research/.
I’m really pleased that on Monday we will be holding our first virtual inclusion day. There are a number of really good speakers that you can hear as well as our Q&A panel in the morning that includes our Trust Chairman, Chairs of our staff networks and Frieza Mahmood who is sharing with Bethan Downing the Acting Director of People and OD on an interim basis, following Raffaela Goodby’s departure this week. Celebrating inclusion and diversity has been a passion of Raffaela’s and her legacy will continue as we strive to be a more inclusive health care provider and employer. Other speakers on the day include Dean Eales from AccessAble who develop detailed access guides to places for those with mobility needs; Nesta Williams, a leading consultant in equality and engagement; and Katie Neeves who will be sharing her own journey being transgender. To join in any of these please email Estelle.hickman@nhs.net who will book you a place. All sessions will be recorded so if you can’t join in at the time you can see watch at your convenience.
The flu campaign continues and thank you to all the flu-per troopers who are out in their areas performing their peer vaccination role. Over 1500 colleagues have now been vaccinated and our supplies are continuing to come in. We have prioritised patient-facing colleagues but we don’t expect any issues with ongoing supplies of the vaccine meaning that all colleagues will be able to have the jab. Make sure you know when and where you are getting your flu vaccine.
This week our maternity team marked Baby Loss Awareness Week by lighting up the department at City in blue and pink. Our midwives and colleagues who support women and families who lose a baby recognise the impact the tragedy has on people’s lives and want to raise awareness to contribute to breaking the silence that often exists in these circumstances. The lights were switched on in memory of all the babies who lit up people’s lives for a short time, and kindly funded by CLC Group, a company who work closely with our estates team on maintenance and refurbishment across our Trust sites.
Huge congratulations to Deputy Medical Director and Acute Medical Consultant Dr Sarb Clare, who was awarded a MBE in the Queen’s Honours last weekend. Along with so many others, Sarb has contributed hugely to our response to Covid-19, with leadership, integrity and kindness, providing first class care for patients and standing with and supporting colleagues. As Sarb herself has said, she is one of a team of great people working here and we share in her success.
Our star of the week is Sonia Bal, Ward Sister in Surgical Services who took it upon herself to arrange a wellbeing event for staff to help with mental wellbeing over the Covid pandemic. Sonia was nominated for going above and beyond to support her colleagues. She was redeployed to ITU during the first surge and also moved to different wards where support was needed. The wellbeing event was greatly appreciated by those who attended as it gave time for people to share their experiences and learn about the support available.
Last week I highlighted the support on offer as part of mental health awareness week. Please challenge yourself and your colleagues to try out one of these resources that are freely available. Many colleagues have shared their experiences of how valuable this help is, particularly as we enter new restrictions and Covid cases continue to rise so do take the time to make use of them.
David Carruthers
Acting Chief Executive