COVID-19 Bulletin: Tuesday 1 February

February 1, 2022

1. New: Mandatory vaccination update

Colleagues will have seen information in the media yesterday about a review of the Vaccination as a Condition of Deployment legislation. The Secretary of State for Health announced in parliament yesterday that the legislation is being reconsidered. The Government’s decision is subject to a parliamentary process and will require further consultation and a vote to be passed into legislation.

At the present time we are continuing to confirm the vaccination status of all our staff. Please ensure that you confirm your status to the HR email advice line swbh.hr-advice-for-covid-19@nhs.net if we have written to you to say we have no record of you having 1^st and 2^nd doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

We are expecting additional information on the review to come to the NHS in due course and we expect to take a consistent approach with other Trusts in the country, and particularly within the Black Country and West Birmingham Integrated Care System.

NHS England have advised all Trusts not to issue notice of termination of employment this week to those staff who are in scope of the legislation and are as yet unvaccinated.

Thank you to everyone who continues to step forward to be vaccinated which remains the best way to protect yourselves, our patients and your loved ones. Vaccination appointments and walk-in sessions remain available through our Trust hubs and also in locations across the region.

Thank you too for everyone who has been speaking to colleagues to confirm vaccination status and feeding that information into our workforce hubs, as well as the people working in our workforce hub, collating and reporting all of that information. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.

Still need to get your vaccine? Visit one of our vaccination clinics:

2. New: COVID-19 vaccination regulation: Get your first dose by Thursday 3 February

There have been reports from some parts of the country of companies selling false vaccination information to be added to health records. Efforts are underway nationally to identify these false entries, remove them and arrest and prosecute those responsible for adding them.

An offence of fraud is committed by anyone that creates a false record to make a financial gain for themselves or another. It is also a criminal offence to misuse a computer system or access it without authorisation, and to accept a payment to act improperly.

Anyone found to have false vaccine information may be liable to criminal, regulatory and/or disciplinary sanctions.

All suspicions of fraud or bribery should be reported to the Local Counter Fraud Specialist Sophie Coster (Tel: 07436 268747), Chief Finance Officer, Dinah McLannahan dinah.mclannahan@nhs.net; or NHSCFA via 0800 028 40 60.

3. Reminder: Award-winning wellbeing support available

The Trust has a range of support on offer to help colleagues with their wellbeing. The Trust’s wellbeing offer has been commended nationally and has won several awards. In this edition of the COVID-19 bulletin we profile some of the options available to support your mental and physical health.

Visit the sanctuary:

Managing our stress and mental health is as important as our physical health and the sanctuary is a place to do both.

Dr Michael Blaber, Wellbeing Lead for Junior Doctors has attended the Sanctuary:

“The staff were exceptionally friendly, though not at all intrusive. Colleagues were enjoying guided mindfulness and music therapy, learning de-stress techniques and benefiting from skilled listening and clinical supervision. Whether I wanted to offer my ‘expert analysis’ of the football or discuss the difficult situation I had just encountered on the ward, there was freedom to simply unwind… I highly recommend it to you.” 

You can read Dr Blaber’s full article on Connect.

The Wellbeing Sanctuary is only a 5 minute drive away from City Hospital and a 10 minute drive away from Sandwell Hospital (Learning Works on Unett Street, Smethwick, B66 3SY) with free parking right outside.

Relax and unwind with a massage:

Reset your mind and body with a relaxing chair massage. Seated acupressure massage sessions are a fantastic way to relieve back, neck and shoulder pain, improve your mood, reduce stress and anxiety, lift your energy and increase circulation.

A full consultation is completed with the therapist prior to the session and the massage is carried out safely over your own light clothing

When and where?

30-minute appointments take place at the Wellbeing Hub, City Hospital, Arches, 1st Floor, Corridor A (old physio therapy corridor), Room B002/F/049 situated to the right of the corridor, between the following times:

• Tuesday 10am – 3.30pm
• Wednesday 10am – 3.30pm
• Thursday 10am – 5pm

For further enquiries/bookings please contact the Wellbeing Hub on 0121 507 5886/3854.

Wellbeing hubs at Sandwell, City and Rowley:

Focusing on ensuring that colleagues have a good day every day, the hubs aim to help improve mental health, relieve stress, build resilience and restore balance. The hubs are set to provide much needed health and wellbeing for colleagues closer to their work base.

Services in the wellbeing hubs include:

Confidential chat – an opportunity for colleagues to offload and talk about anything which is troubling them

• Meditation
• Relaxation POD (massage chair)
• Back, Hips, Leg Massager

The wellbeing hub is completely confidential, all services and treatments are free of charge for Trust colleagues and delivered by trained wellbeing coaches.

The wellbeing hubs are a regular weekly service across all the sites listed below between 8am – 4pm:

• Every Monday at Jayne Wright Therapy Room, Trinity House, Sandwell
• Every Wednesday at Rowley Regis Hospital – therapy room Archer, 1^stfloor, Rowley Regis Hospital
• Every Friday Wellbeing Hub, above Arches, 1^stFloor, Corridor A (old physiotherapy corridor) Room B002/F/049 situated to the right of the corridor, City Hospital

Monday – Friday at the Sanctuary, Unett Street, Smethwick B66 3SY

If you would like to register your interest and book in to one of the sessions contact the wellbeing team on 0121 507 5886 or 0121 507 3854. Alternatively you can email Jatinder.sekhon@nhs.net.

4. Reminder: Counselling support available for colleagues  

Mental ill health affects around one in four people in any given year. Common mental health issues range from the worries and stress to anxiety and depression. Counselling can be a very helpful intervention for these problems as well as other issues.

Counsellors providing this service are trained to help with a wide range of issues and problems within the workplace and in your personal life.  The service is completely confidential.  You do not need to leave your name with Occupational Health if you don’t want to, just your contact telephone number.

There is also a range of other support services which you can be directed to as appropriate.

You can contact your confidential employee counselling service free of charge. To book an appointment, whether that be face to face or via the telephone consultation, please call occupational health on 0121 507 3306, option 1.

Samaritans: The National NHS teams have introduced a confidential staff support line, operated by the Samaritans which can be accessed by calling: 0300 131 7000 or 0800 069 6222 from 7am – 11pm, seven days a week. If you need to access the 24/7 service emergency Samaritans service, please call 116 123.

5. Reminder: Free your mind, body and spirit with Yoga or join City gym   

Whether you’re are an experienced Yoga guru, a complete beginner or just fancy trying it out – join a free Yoga session on Mondays or Thursdays, 4.45pm – 5.45pm at Sandwell, Berridge Suite or City Millers Restaurant. Mats will be provided.

The yoga sessions, allows you to explore Sandstone Yoga Flow, designed to relax, restore, nourish and strengthen the body, mind and soul. A must if you are passionate about becoming the best version of yourself in all walks of life.

Fancy trying yoga from the comfort of your own home? Online sessions are also available, to register for the Sandwell online class, click here or for the City online class, click here.

For more information on Yoga please contact 01922 277684 or email hello@sandstoneyoga.co.uk or to register your interest email Jatinder Sekhon at Jatinder.sekhon@nhs.net.

 City gym remains open to keep you mentally and physically fit:

Being physically and mentally fit has never been more important and we’re committed to providing our colleagues with a safe place to get a great workout. For this to happen there are a number of instructions that have to be carried out and you must adhere to them at all times, including reduced numbers and social distancing. Click here to access the Guidance for using City gym under COVID-19 restrictions and for further information about the City gym.

• For existing members: Your pass will already be activated ready for use
• For new members: Please contact Jatinder Sekhon on 0121 507 5886/3854 to complete your registration.

The video below is the gym induction film that colleagues should watch before they use the facility.

Sandwell gym:

Work is underway to establish how we may safely reopen the gym at Sandwell. In the meantime, you can still take advantage of a 20 per cent discount per month at Sandwell Leisure Trust via their one card membership.

6. Reminder: Access to our wellbeing resources  

There is an array of wellbeing resources to support both clinical and non-clinical colleagues.

From health and wellbeing support, to staff discounts, at SWB we’re always aiming to promote positive mental health and wellbeing as we believe it’s vital we continue to have a healthy and happy workforce, especially during such challenging times.

For the full list of all our wellbeing resources, please click here.