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Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 8 November

November 8, 2024

My Friday message this week is themed around first and lasts – things that many of us will have experienced over the last few weeks, and even more so in the coming days.

First and last moments hold a unique magic. The first moment of something – the start of a journey, the opening lines of a story – carries with it an energy that’s fresh and filled with possibilities. It’s the thrill of stepping into the unknown, not with all the answers, but full of hope. In contrast, last moments are layered with the weight of memory, sometimes bittersweet, sometimes triumphant. They’re tinged with nostalgia or perhaps a sense of completion, last moments remind us of our resilience, our growth, and the richness of what we’ve experienced, even if there’s a feeling of sadness in letting go.

We have had our fair share of firsts over the last few days and weeks:

We have also had, and will be having, many last moments:

  • Our maternity teams delivered the last babies to be born at City Hospital on Wednesday this week.  I had the pleasure of meeting the last baby to come into the world after over 100 years history at City Hospital, on Wednesday.
  • Many of you will be working, if not already worked, your last shifts at Sandwell Hospital and City Hospital – a place that I know is steeped in history and memories for many people.  I’ve said repeatedly that if walls could talk, City Hospital would tell some incredible stories.
  • It will be the last time patients are cared for in our Nightingale wards – there are very few of these left now in the NHS
  • Patients will be wheeled up and down the famous City Hospital corridor for the last time and we will film the lights going out down that long, famous corridor.

These last moments will provoke different emotions for many of you and indeed your families; take time to reflect on your memories over the next few days. I have spoken to colleagues who were both born and worked at City for many years – and last Friday we had the opportunity to celebrate City – look out for a special piece on that from our comms team on Monday. That history won’t be lost. We are already looking at how we can incorporate it into the Winter Garden at Midland Met – our past plays such an important role in our future, and it is only right that we ensure it features in our new building.  The TV coverage we will get on Sunday and Monday will also mark City’s history and will be online forever.

First moments bring fresh opportunities, new ways of doing things and Sunday will bring one of the best firsts to date, having all of our acute clinical teams under one roof – however this will also be the last time we do things ‘the old way’ – there will be no more ‘Sandwell way’ or ‘City way’ – we will be moving forward with ‘the Midland Met way.’

I have said this in my Friday message before, but we simply must not cut and paste our existing processes and approaches into a new building and expect it to work better – it won’t.

We have redesigned our clinical services, resourced a 7-day service model through a bold £25 million investment at a time when the NHS is cutting its budgets, and so now we must improve the efficiency, quality, and safety of our services. Our performance against important waiting time standards, emergency care access standards, internal quality standards between specialities all need to improve significantly. Our current reasons or excuses for not doing so, will have largely been removed in the forthcoming days.

I recognise that change is hard, but it is necessary – for us to provide the standards of care and patient experience that we desire and that the communities of Sandwell and West Birmingham deserve.

Finally, thank you to everyone who was worked so hard to deliver phase one and two of the moves to Midland Met. They have both been completed ahead of schedule, and with no significant issues or patient safety concerns. This is testament to the meticulous planning that has gone into the move, and I have no doubts that the final phase on Sunday will go just as well. Good luck to everyone involved and see you on Sunday!

Have a good weekend.

Richard.