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Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 29 November

November 29, 2024

Sunday (1 December) marks three weeks since Midland Met became a fully operational hospital.  I have been looking on with real pride, as colleagues from different teams have come together, taking the best of what worked at City and Sandwell and forging their new Midland Met way – and long may this continue. I said when we moved, that we couldn’t just bring our old ways of working into this wonderful new building, we needed to adapt and change, and I am pleased to see this is happening.

Although there have been a few teething problems (and please continue to raise when things aren’t right – we are, and will do something about it) we have already seen some real positives. These include:

  • Ambulance Turnaround: Although we are receiving the highest volume of ambulances in the region – we are currently delivering some of the best turnaround time – well done to everyone involved in this
  • ED Performance: Our ED performance has improved by 3% during the first month
  • Critical patient pathways: We have seen no incidents across our 41 critical patient flows in the first 30 days – this hasn’t happened by chance – this is due to the meticulous planning and rehearsal of these flows
  • Improved Environments: Our patients are benefitting some so much natural light, and their privacy and dignity has improved due to the number of side rooms available in Midland Met. Another example of improved environment is in the Neonatal Unit – where the space is bigger, lighting is improved, and the noise is reduced. This has meant that our tiniest patients are much calmer and more settled – all of which aids their journey to getting strong enough to go home.

Not bad for just under three weeks – lets keep going.

Our MMUH journey has given us much to be proud of – in how we redesigned services before the move, in how we delivered significant reductions in unnecessary admissions to hospital, in how we planned and executed the move and in how the hospital is starting to deliver better experience for staff and patients.  We have been keen to tell this story and got a further opportunity to do so yesterday, when the NHS Confederation visited for the whole afternoon.  Sir David, Rachel Barlow, Laura Broster and I gave them a guided tour of key areas (ward A9, Maternity, Neonates and ED) and told our story as we walked.  The enthusiasm and professionalism of our staff shone through, and the Confed team were hugely impressed.  They will be showcasing our work in articles and podcasts and will be advocating our story to mainstream media outlets keen to understand how the NHS can improve and transform in the coming years.

You may have seen in the media today, that the Quality Care Commission has released their report into an inspection they carried out in our maternity services in June this year. This resulted in us receiving a ‘requires improvement’ rating. We recognised that our maternity service was not performing to the standard we expect earlier this and proactively sought a peer review, which then resulted in an inspection visit from the CQC.

As expected, the result wasn’t good, but since June, the senior leadership team within Women and Child Health have worked tirelessly to implement improvements and, coupled with the eradication of most of the environmental factors by the move to a fantastic new maternity department in Midland Met, we are confident that our service is unrecognisable from the one that was inspected earlier this year.

I know these reports can feel disheartening, but they also serve as a foundation for improvement and growth. Our focus now is on learning from the past and ensuring that the care we provide not only meets, but exceeds expectations, in what is now a state-of-the-art environment. To those colleagues in maternity, I encourage you to take pride in how far you’ve come and continue to approach this new chapter with optimism and determination.

Finally – Sunday is 1 December and officially the start of the festive season and why I certainly don’t mean to be ‘The Grinch,’ please make sure you are aware of the dos and don’ts of Christmas decorations – particularly for those working on wards in Midland Met. The guidance was circulated on Thursday and you can read it here if you missed it.

Next week (Thursday 5 December) will see the official Midland Met Christmas lights switch on. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible in the Winter Garden from 4.30pm – I am sure there will be some festive treats on offer too.

Have a good weekend.

Kind regards,

Richard