Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 7 August
August 10, 2020
Our monthly Trust Board meeting took place yesterday and we heard from a surgical patient who was recently cared for at our Trust. She described her experiences and had overwhelming praise for everyone she came into contact with. Unfortunately her pathway to get the treatment she needed was not straightforward. There were some missed opportunities in the preceding months to get her to the right place for the diagnostic tests and subsequent surgery. This is being picked up with the medical and surgical teams as well as the ambulance service. Despite these experiences, our patient was extremely satisfied with her overall experience. She told us that everyone was kind and couldn’t do enough for her, staff were always available to say hello and ask if she was ok. In my message of a fortnight ago, I reflected on the big impact that small acts of kindness make. This was clearly apparent in the story we heard and worth our own considerations as we go through our daily lives. The care pathway for this patient was far from ideal but the kindness she was shown made the overall experience positive.
The wider health system is looking at some changes with the four clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in the Black Country carrying out an engagement exercise with stakeholders and the public to inform a decision on whether they should merge. This would create a single CCG for the Black Country and the west of Birmingham and we have been invited to share our views on this proposal. We continue to work closely with our provider colleagues in the Black Country and West Birmingham STP particularly now, as we collaborate to restore our health care services post-surge. There is much we can do together that will provide better services for our patients enabling them to get faster access to treatment, than if we were to “go it alone”. Being a good partner has long been a strength of our Trust and the joint working in our two “places”, Sandwell and Ladywood & Perry Barr is seeing strong collaboration around delivering improved health outcomes for residents. Midland Met is at the heart of the model of acute care for Sandwell and West Birmingham patients and over the next few weeks clinical teams will take part in workshops reviewing the MMUH clinical pathways as part of our readiness to move to the new hospital which remains on track to open in 2022.
You’ll see one of the images above was taken after my cycle to work this week. I purchased an e-bike at the start of the year and have been enjoying using it in recent months particularly during the summer weather. The benefits are not just to my physical health – exercise definitely supports my mental wellbeing too. We have been focussing a lot on mental wellbeing during the pandemic with extensive resources on offer as listed on Connect and at the Sanctuary. But I am also pleased that we are now turning to physical activity and nutrition as part of that package of support for people. The launch of our “Why Weight?” campaign is on 14 August where you can log on to a virtual event to talk you through what’s on offer. As well as access to wellbeing coaches, apps to track your body fat composition and team challenge events, you can register to be one of the folk taking part in a free three month trial of an e-bike, kindly donated by our friends at Ebike Brum. You don’t just have to cycle to work to take part, (although with the forthcoming car parking restrictions and return of parking payments you may prefer this option), you can enjoy the ebike benefits in your leisure time too. Find out more about how you can sign up here.
COVID-19 cases in Sandwell continue to be closely monitored, and as yet, we are not seeing a rise in inpatients admitted with the virus. I want to pay tribute again to our community outbreak team, commissioned by Sandwell Public Health who provide fast access to tests where outbreaks are suspected. A walk-in test facility has also opened up for the general public in West Bromwich, and of course, our key worker and family member testing continues at Sandwell, City and in the community. Echoing Lisa McNally, the Director of Public Health for Sandwell, I want to reiterate the importance of not being complacent. We want to avoid a local lockdown and that means all of us playing our part whilst at work and out in the community. I know this has been a persistent theme in these Friday messages and in our weekly COVID bulletins but don’t let the repetitious nature of these messages undervalue their importance. We will continue to urge you to keep a safe, social distance, comply with PPE requirements and do regular and thorough handwashing. Thank you for what you do that sets an example to people in the community.
Finally, congratulations to our double winners this week of the Star of the Week award. This was presented to Lucy Kynaston and Joanne Bradley, both assistant practitioners in Imaging, who have been invaluable during the pandemic surge. Their colleagues nominated them for their flexibility in covering shifts, being pro-active in using Capman and Unity and training others in how to use them, and for meeting the department’s key performance indicators. Well done – you are hugely valued by your team.
David Carruthers, Acting Chief Executive