Heartbeat January 2019

January 2019 

Sandwell and West Birmingham 

NHS Trust 

The pulse of community health, Leasowes, Rowley Regis, City and Sandwell Hospitals Issue 112 

Integrated care a step closer with 

new GP practice partnershipspage 3 

L-R: Primary Care Liaison Manager, Dottie Tipton; GP, Dr Imran Zaman; GP, Dr James Gwilt and Group Director of 

Operations for Primary Care, Communities and Therapies, Melanie Roberts 

6 months to 

Get set for winter 

Your 2019 guide 

Unity Dress 

smokefree 

- are you 

to health and 

Rehearsal: All you 

prepared? 

wellbeing 

need to know - 

page 4 

page 6 

page 8 - 9 

page page 14-15

FROM THE CHAIR 

HELLO Welcome to 2019 

Welcome to the first Heartbeat 

of 2019. 

In this month’s edition there are two 

double page spreads for you – pages 

eight and nine focus on all things 

health and wellbeing, whilst pages 14 

and 15 have important information 

about the forthcoming dress rehearsal 

of Unity. 

Elsewhere our NHS Hero is Lead 

Chaplain, Mary Causer and the shout 

outs can be found on page 12. 

Contact us 

Communications Team 

Ext 5303 

swbh.comms@nhs.net 

Communications Department 

Ground Floor, Trinity House 

Sandwell Hospital 

Published by 

Communications Team 


Hospitals NHS Trust 

Designed by 

Medical Illustration, 

Graphics Team 


Hospitals NHS Trust 

Submit an idea 

If you’d like to submit an idea 

for an article, contact the 

communications team 

Ext 5303 

swbh.comms@nhs.net 

Stay updated 

We send out a Communications 

Bulletin via email every day and you 

can now read Heartbeat articles 

throughout the month on Connect. 

Don't forget you can follow us on: 

Stepping into a new year often 

brings a feeling of mixed emotions 

- excitement at what is to come, 

nervousness about some of the 

unknowns and an opportunity to 

reflect on all that has taken place 

over the past 12 months. Such a lot 

has been achieved at our Trust for 

patients and their families. I have 

been really encouraged to visit 

many colleagues and patients in our 

services throughout the year. I can 

see the commitment to providing 

first class care and the determination 

to make sure we do all we can for 

those we care for. 

Looking ahead we are committed to 

striding forwards with our plans for 

greater integration – joining up services 

around the needs of patients, even 

when these are services run by other 

organisations. I am delighted with the 

news that we will be running some 

GP practices in partnership with GP 

colleagues, bringing that integration 

ever closer for our patients. A new 

GP practice is in the planning for the 

Sandwell site too – another example of 

linking up acute and primary care into 

seamless services. 

Our digital journey will continue afresh 

with plans to bring Unity on stream and 

our quality plan delivery will improve 

the outcomes of care for patients as we 

tackle sepsis and cut avoidable mortality. 

We expect to see a published report 

from the Care Quality Commission 

this month or early next month and it 

will be important to ensure that our 

improvement plan is delivered in full, 

alongside our other priorities. 

Enhanced experience will remain at the 

forefront and some of the stories you 

can read in this edition of Heartbeat 

are testament to that. The new virtual 

animals (see page 7) will support 

patients with dementia, along with a 

range of pets coming in to entertain 

patients and visitors, more volunteers in 

and around our services, with students 

from local schools supporting and 

learning with us. 

And learning well will become a huge 

feature for us over the next 12 months 

– making sure we learn collectively from 

our mistakes as well as our areas of 

excellence. Our Trust Board meeting this 

month heard from Siten Roy, our Group 

Director for Surgical Services, about a 

recent ‘never event’ where the patient, 

although not harmed, was left with a 

guide wire in situ. It is the learning from 

events like this that should never happen 

that we absolutely must get right this 

year. Our welearn poster competition, 

the shortlist of which was featured 

in Heartbeat last month, was the 

springboard to our learning programme 

that will bring together the best of what 

we do round here as well as a robust 

approach to learning when things that 

go wrong. Our culture of openness and 

transparency, plus our protected time for 

quality improvement puts us in the best 

position to excel in this vital area. 

With best wishes for 2019. 

Richard Samuda – Trust Chairman 

Chairman, Richard Samuda

Collaboration with local GP 

partnerships announced 

As Chief Executive, Toby Lewis 

announced in his Friday message earlier 

this month, we have been successful in 

a bid to secure an Alternative Provider 

Medical Services (APMS) contract to run 

GP services in our area in collaboration 

with local GP partnerships. 

Toby explained: “Our Trust believes in 

partnership and in diversity. So we will 

work at scale with primary care in our 

networks and alliances across Ladywood, 

Perry Barr and Sandwell. And we 

will continue to create deep working 

relationships with valued GP colleagues 

through mechanisms like these APMS 

contracts. The new arrangements are a 

chance to do, to learn and to build trust. 

We want to move fast to provide the very 

best long term conditions care for children 

and for adults that redefine traditional 

home and hospital boundaries.” 

The contract takes effect on 1 April 2019. 

We’re working with two partners – Your 

Health Partnership across Sandwell and 

Broadway Health Centre in Birmingham 

– to deliver primary care services to 

approximately 16,000 patients from Great 

Bridge Health Centre, Parsonage Street and 

Summerfield GP Practice. 

Dr Simon Mitchell, Executive Partner 

at Your Health Partnership said: “Your 

Health Partnership is delighted to have the 

opportunity to work with the hospital Trust 

to deliver primary care services in West 

Bromwich. We have a well-established 

relationship with the Trust and believe the 

opportunity to work together in this way 

will create lots of exciting new ways to 

improve the health of the patients whilst 

continuing to deliver great quality general 

practice.” 

This new contract offers the potential to 

shape primary healthcare provision locally. 

Working with our partners, we’ll embrace 

the opportunity to work differently which 

may see some patients having their care 

delivered by consultants in a primary care 

setting, and seeing increased consultant-led 

clinics opening closer to home, at their GP 

surgery. 

For many patients, they will see the benefit 

of having almost all their NHS services (with 

the exception of mental health) delivered 

by one organisation that includes, primary 

care, acute and community services. The 

opportunity to build a meaningful data set 

for the patients registered with the health 

centres, will give insight into whether new 

ways of working improve health outcomes. 

Dr Imran Zaman, GP at Broadway 

Healthcare Centre, said: “I am a firm 

believer that healthcare should be delivered 

as a whole and that’s why I’m very excited 

with this opportunity as it will deliver the 

CORPORATE AND GENERAL 

NEWS 

integrated care model that we have 

always been talking about. 

“I’m thankful to everyone who 

has been involved in making this 

partnership happen. Over the next 

couple of months and indeed in years to 

come, I hope that patients and staff will 

see the difference that this opportunity 

brings.” 

Dr Manir Aslam, GP at Broadway 

Healthcare Centre, added: “We’ve 

been really fortunate to collaborate with 

the Trust to deliver this truly integrated 

care model. 

“This partnership has tremendous 

benefits for patients and means that 

there will be joined-up services, where 

treatment plans will be designed by 

generalists from primary care, specialists 

from the Trust and our patients. 

“We will definitely see a more seamless 

pathway for patients so they can be 

seen quicker and treated more 

effectively. From my point of view, this 

partnership shows the true meaning of 

integration and that’s the future of our 

healthcare service.” 

L-R: GPs, Dr Manir Aslam and Dr Imran Zaman are excited about the new partnership 

3

Smokefree countdown continues 


NEWS 

From 5 July 2019, our sites will 

become free from tobacco smoke. 

This commitment was made by 

the Trust Board on the NHS’s 70 th 

birthday last year. The “200 days to 

go” countdown to smoke free sites 

was marked on 17 December with 

messages to colleagues, patients and 

families that now is the time to quit 

and make the most of the support 

on offer with time to spare before 

the ban. 

Last month we launched a survey to 

smokers and others, inviting them 

to share their views and suggestions 

for how this transition could be best 

managed. Almost 200 people have 

responded to date with 92 per cent 

indicating that they are aware of the 

forthcoming smoking ban. 

Smokers who responded were 

supportive of free nicotine replacement 

therapy and initiatives to swap cigarettes 

for alternative material including vaping 

products and 70 per cent of people 

said they had tried to stop or cut down 

previously. Some people felt the ban 

would have no impact on their own 

smoking habits whereas others stated it 

would encourage them to quit. 

You can still share your views by 

completing our short online survey at 

surveymonkey.co.uk/r/JMXNK8R 

There has been overwhelming support 

Phil Sterling, Emergency Planning Officer, is 

now vaping at work instead of smoking to 

prepare for the ban 

for the ban within our organisation and in 

the local community. 

Local GP, Dr Imran Zaman said: “I’ve just 

heard about the Trust’s 200 days to go 

smoke-free initiative and I think it’s a 

fantastic idea. As GPs we often see patients 

who are suffering from smoke-related 

conditions, from lung cancer to COPD and 

so I fully endorse and get behind this.” 

Our Emergency Planning Officer, Phil 

Stirling is a smoker, but he now vapes at 

work rather than smoking cigarettes in 

preparation for the ban. He told Heartbeat: 

“I decided to take up vaping rather than 

smoking. I’ve smoked since I was 17 years 

old, but I only smoke at the weekend now. 

To be honest it’s not pleasant to use the 

smoking shelters to vape as you do pick up 

the smell of smoke even from just spending 

a couple of minutes there. That will be a big 

change once the ban comes in, as although 

there will be fewer shelters, they will be for 

vaping only.” 

Kiran Mann, Sister on OPAU is in support 

of the ban. She said: “I think the Trust 

going smoke free is a brilliant idea. I think 

it will encourage people to stop smoking 

because there are no designated smoking 

areas, so they will have to go further out. 

I think it will encourage people who want 

to quit altogether…hopefully it will be a 

great success.” 

Respiratory Consultant, Dr Arvind 

Rajasekaran said: “Lung cancer is the 

largest cause of cancer- related deaths in 

the UK and lung cancer is principally caused 

by smoking cigarettes. The decision to go 

smoke free will be part of a wider action to 

increase awareness of the harmful effects of 

smoking and also our efforts to help people 

to give us this habit.” 

Dr Manir Aslam is a GP at Broadway Health 

Centre. He said: “People don’t expect 

to go to hospital and work in a smoky 

environment so if you’re thinking about 

giving up, now is your chance.” 

There is lots of help on offer for 

smokers who want to cut down and 

quit. Visit Connect for the latest 

information and contact the health and 

wellbeing service for details of clinics 

at Rowley Regis, City and Sandwell 

Hospitals with new sessions on 

Saturdays. 

6 months until we go 

smokefree 

2019 

5 

JULY 

For information on stopping smoking please 

contact occupational health on extension 3306. 

#SWBHSmokeFree 

4

Apprentices reach new heights 

At the end of 2018, we hosted our 

apprenticeship achievements ceremony, 

which celebrate the successes of our 

apprentices. The celebration also 

marked our organisation meeting the 

government apprenticeship target 

of 2.3 per cent (equivalent to 161 

people) of our workforce being on an 

apprenticeship programme. 

The special event, which was hosted in the 

Education Centre at Sandwell Hospital, saw 

over 35 apprentices and their closest friends 

and family members come together to 

celebrate their success. 

Guests were welcomed by Bethan Downing, 

Deputy Director, Organisation Development 

and Learning and then apprentices were 

presented with certificates of achievement 

by Maxine Griffiths, Widening Participation 

Manager. The event was then topped off 

with refreshments for all to enjoy. 

Maxine believes all the apprentices should 

be proud of what they have achieved. She 

said: “All the apprentices have done really 

well to get their level 2s and 3s, whether 

that is in Business Administration, Health 

and Social Care or Customer Service. 

Over 35 apprentices celebrated their success 

at an awards ceremony at the end of last year 

“It can be difficult to manage the time 

to study whilst working but they have all 

proved that hard work can pay off if you 

put your mind to it.” 

Bethan echoes these thoughts and said: 

“I would like to say congratulations to 

everyone who was successful in completing 

an apprenticeship in 2018. 

“I would also like to congratulate the 

team on meeting attaining over 2 per cent 

regarding the government apprenticeship 

target.” 

One of the apprentices who received an 

award was Cody Pearsall, who has recently 

been appointed as a HCA on Lyndon 1. 

She said: “I really enjoyed my apprenticeship 


NEWS 

and I felt like I learned lots. I worked on 

Lyndon 1 during my studying, so I was 

delighted when they took me on as a 

qualified health care assistant and I am 

really enjoying my new role. 

“I hope that in the future I can continue 

to progress.” 

Cody Pearsall completed her health and 

social care level 2 and has recently been 

appointed as a HCA on Lyndon 1 

Nursing career escalator: The fast 

track to success 

Over 40 band five nurses, who 

scored 4A or 4B in their PDR, have 

been selected to join our nursing 

career escalator programme. 

This programme is the first of its kind, 

both locally and nationally, and is designed 

to support, retain and develop talented 

colleagues, whether they want to develop 

their skills within a clinical role or aspire to 

move into a management position. 

The programme will see successful 

applicants embark on an exciting learning 

journey of local and national training 

programmes, such as single improvement 

methodology, developing personal resilience 

and emotional intelligence. 

Heartbeat spoke to Head of Education for 

Nursing and Midwifery, Helen Cope to find 

out more. 

“The nursing career escalator programme 

is spearheading the introduction of 

development opportunities for colleagues,” 

said Helen. 

“It offers participants bespoke development 

opportunities which are tailored to their 

individual needs and aspirations – whether 

that be clinical or developing their 

managerial skills. 

“Participants also have opportunities to 

shadow clinicians, develop clinical skills 

and knowledge, as well as undertaking the 

accredited manager courses. 

“All of the participants will also develop 

a competency portfolio throughout the 

programme detailing, documenting 

and demonstrating their progress and 

development within the programme.” 

One of the first people to receive their 

invitation was Staff Nurse, Sam Metcalf 

who has worked at our organisation for 

over 18 years and she told Heartbeat of her 

delight at being selected. 

“Following my PDR my manager recognised 

that I am keen to learn, develop and 

progress and when I was scored so 

highly, they spoke to me about the career 

escalator programme which I applied for 

and I was delighted when I found out I had 

been selected.” 

If you would like to find out more about the 

opportunities to develop through a career 

escalator programme, contact Chief Nurse, 

Paula Gardner or Head of Education for 

Nursing and Midwifery, Helen Cope. 

Staff Nurse, Sam Metcalf graciously accepts 

her invitation to join the career escalator 

programme from Chief Nurse, Paula Gardner 

5

Local MP meets the Midland Met 

workers back on site 


NEWS 

John Spellar, MP for Warley took 

time out of his busy schedule to drop 

in on Midland Met in December to 

see for himself how the building 

is shaping up following the 

recommencement of work on site. 

The visit came ahead of our organisation 

beginning the process of tendering for a 

contractor to complete the construction 

of the new emergency hospital. Building 

giant Balfour Beatty started work last 

month on the interim repair, making 

good the parts of the building that were 

left open to the elements since work 

stopped in January 2018. 

L-R: Dalvir Bains, Jim Cole, Robert Wood, John 

Spellar, Rumena Sufian, Colin Melvin and Chief 

Executive, Toby Lewis 

Chief Executive Toby Lewis said: “We are 

pleased that Midland Met’s local MP, Mr John 

Spellar, took time out to visit the site and see 

the cranes in action once again. 

“He has been very supportive of our efforts 

to ensure we have the funding in place and 

the right construction arrangements to finish 

the hospital, as an essential acute hospital 

which will transform the health and 

wellbeing of the local population, and bring 

investment and regeneration opportunities 

to the nearby area.” 

Mr Spellar commented: “I am delighted to 

see work starting again on the site of this 

long awaited and much needed project. 

Toby Lewis and his team have worked 

tirelessly to bring this about. The people 

of Sandwell and West Birmingham have 

waited too long for this hospital and I have 

urged the management and Government to 

get this completed as soon as possible.” 

During the visit Mr Spellar met with Trust 

Advisor, Dave Hollywood, along with 

Colin Melvin, Forklift Driver, Dalvir Bains, 

Gateman and Traffic Marshall, Jim Cole, 

Labourer, Robert Wood, Carpenter, Andy 

Fage, Project Manager and Rumena Sufian, 

Project Support Officer. 

Winter ready: The snow must go on 

When it comes to being prepared 

for winter in the NHS, it goes well 

beyond making sure you have a pair 

of gloves and a scarf at the ready. 

Even when the country seems to 

grind to a halt when the white stuff 

hits, for those in the NHS – the show 

must go on - as our hospitals are full 

of patients who rely on us. 

Last year brought us unprecedented 

snow and cold weather as the ‘Beast 

from the East,’ visited Sandwell and 

West Birmingham. As an organisation, 

it was business as usual and our 

preparation shone through. 

Business continuity plans came into 

play and tactical command centres 

were established. Colleagues in estates 

worked tirelessly to keep boilers heating 

the hospital and the surrounding 

areas were safe for both colleagues 

and visitors. We heard many stories of 

colleagues coming together to get to 

work safely, with many leaving the car at 

home and heading in on foot. 

This year, we are taking the same 

approach and are asking colleagues 

to plan ahead and consider every 

eventuality, so that should there be a 

sudden snow shower or ice on the road, 

we are still able to get to work and 

provide our patients with care we pride 

ourselves on. 

Last year Critical Care Sisters, Amy-Jo Allen and 

Rhea Conn embarked on a 90 minute walk 

to ensure they could care for patients at City 

Hospital 

To find out more about the winter 

preparedness plans and expectations, 

Heartbeat caught up with Chief Operating 

Officer, Rachel Barlow to find out more. 

“We all have a duty of care to plan and 

prepare for every eventuality to ensure we can 

continue delivering safe and effective care,” 

said Rachel. 

“We are asking colleagues to ensure that they 

are prepared and to ensure they are able to 

make it to their place of work – should we 

experience similar weather to last year. 

“During winter we all need to support each 

other. We can’t safely deliver care without 

being staffed appropriately. 

“Whilst I understand that bitterly cold 

weather can make it difficult to get to 

work, with a little planning and foresight, it 

is often possible to arrive and leave safely, 

as was proven last year by many dedicated 

colleagues.” 

Top tips for winter preparedness 

• Don’t be reliant on your car to get to 

work, ensure you have alternative 

transport available, (train, metro, bus). 

• If you have childcare responsibilities, 

ensure you have a friend or family 

member to support should schools / 

nurseries close. 

• Keep up to date with the weather - 

cold weather reports are published in 

the daily bulletin and on myConnect, 

as well as weather reports on apps / tv 

and radio. 

• If you drive, ensure your car is suitably 

equipped and serviced to handle winter 

weather safely. 

• If you need to find alternative routes 

to work using public transport that 

you are unfamiliar with, use https:// 

www.networkwestmidlands.com/ or 

apps on your phone such as ‘City 

Mapper’ to navigate your way to work. 

If you are unable to make it to work, 

you must inform your line manager 

at the earliest available opportunity. 

Guidance on the reporting protocol can 

be found on Connect. 

6

Robot has seal of approval from 

chief nurse 

Meet PARO – the furry robotic seal 

that will be used as a therapeutic 

intervention for people with dementia 

and learning disabilities on our wards. 

The fluffy robot uses artificial intelligence 

(AI) technology to learn from its 

surroundings and responds to its name. 

It likes to be petted and even wags its tail 

afterwards to show appreciation. 

The seal contains sensors that allow 

it to perceive what is happening in its 

surroundings, to recognise light and to 

know where a voice is coming from. It 

looks at the person talking to it and makes 

whining noises. 

The robot has been in use since 2003 

in more than 30 countries, including 

Japan, Denmark and the United States 

and research has shown that the seal 

lessens stress and anxiety, promotes social 

interaction, facilitates emotional expression, 

and improves mood and speech fluency. 

Paula Gardner, Chief Nurse, said: “The seals 

were used at a previous organisation 

I worked at and I thought they were 

brilliant, hence why I was keen on 

introducing them here. 

“We regularly hold pet therapy sessions 

which demonstrate that interaction with 

real animals improves the mood of our 

patients and motivates them. 

“The sessions with Pets as Therapy are held 

on a weekly basis in a day room on Newton 

4 ward and are very popular. However, the 

PARO seals can be taken to the bedside of 

our patients which takes away any issues 

regarding infection control.” 

Tests carried out have found that the seal 

can be safely used. The robot was used over 

a nine month period on a 10-bed dementia 

ward, where hygiene and cleaning tests 

were carried out. 

Lead researcher, Dr Penny Dodds said: “We 

have demonstrated that, under controlled 

conditions, PARO was safe within the 

hospital setting for an acute care dementia 

unit.” 


NEWS 

PARO was invented by Professor Takanori 

Shibata from Japan. He has previously 

said of his creation: “I set out to find a 

way to use technology as an alternative 

drug-free therapy to ease the suffering 

of patients with dementia. 

“The health challenges faced by older 

people are enormous and growing 

but technology is changing just as 

quickly. We’ve proved that this is 

possible, and that AI has huge potential 

for the future.” 

To find out more about the PARO Seal 

and how it can be used on your ward, 

contact Stephen.keates@nhs.net. 

BME and LGBT staff networks name 

new chairs 

2019 will bring leadership changes for 

the BME and LGBT staff networks, as 

both groups have recently appointed 

new leadership teams. 

Charge Nurse, David Powell has been 

elected as chair of the LGBT network, with 

Head of Diversity and Inclusion, Stuart 

Young as vice-chair, whilst Assistant Primary 

Care Liaison Manager, Donna Mighty and 

Senior IT Support Officer, Mark Haynes have 

been elected as chair and vice-chair of the 

BME network. 

Heartbeat caught up with the newly 

appointed chairs and vice chairs to find out 

how they felt about their recent election. 

“I am delighted to be elected as chair of the 

BME staff network,” said Donna. 

“Thank you to everyone who took the 

time to cast their vote. I will build upon the 

fantastic work already started and play my 

part in making a positive difference within 

our workplace and creating equity for all.” 

Mark said: “I would like to express 

L-R: Deputy Chief Nurse, Paul Hooton; Chief 

Nurse, Paula Gardner and Associate Chief 

Nurse, Debbie Talbot with the PARO Seal 

heartfelt thanks to you all for your support, 

encouragement and confidence in electing 

me as vice chair of our BME staff network. 

“Congratulations to my fellow elected; 

Donna Mighty, David Powell and Stuart 

Young. I look forward to working with you 

as a team to advance issues of importance.” 

David added: “Thank you for electing me to 

be chair of the LGBT network. I am looking 

forward to taking forward the amazing 

work this Trust has done in supporting 

colleagues to be able to have a voice. 

“It is important to me to be able to support 

and work alongside colleagues and to 

share the experiences I have had during my 

nursing career.” 

Stuart concluded: “I am delighted to be 

able to support Dave in his term as chair of 

the LGBT staff network. 

“In the last two years we have made a real 

difference to colleagues and patients and I 

am looking forward to helping the network 

and allies continue this important work.” 

The PARO seal 

Staff network meeting dates for 2019 

BME Network 

13/02/2019 

14:00 – 16:00 

Sandwell Education 

Centre - Room 15 


13:00 – 15:00 

Anne Gibson Board 

Room – City Hospital 


14:00 – 16:00 




14:00 – 16:00 

Anne Gibson Board 

Room – City Hospital 


14:00 – 16:00 



LGBT Network 


10:00 – 12:00 




14:00 – 16:00 

City Hospital - Anne 

Gibson Committee 

Room 


10:00 – 12:00 

SGH Education Centre - 

Room 9 


14:00 – 16:00 

City Hospital - Anne 

Gibson Committee 

Room 


10:00 – 12:00 



7

Your 2019 guide from the health and 

wellbeing and SWBH benefits team 

NHS Health Checks 

Are you aged between 40 and 74 

and have no health problems such as 

angina, diabetes or kidney disease? 

Did you know you can get a free NHS 

health check at work? 

The occupational health and wellbeing 

services, in conjunction with Everyone 

Health, are offer the checks which 

includes a measurement of height, 

weight, blood pressure, pulse 

and cholesterol as well as lifestyle 

questionnaires. The NHS Health Check 

aims to help you prevent heart disease, 

stroke, diabetes, kidney disease 

and dementia. 

Checks take place every week and 

alternate between Sandwell and City 

Hospitals. 

Forthcoming dates are as follows: 

5 February and 19 February 

Jayne Wright Holistic Therapy Room, 

Trinity House, Sandwell Hospital 

10am – 3.30pm 

12 February and 26 February 

Room 1, Occupational Health, Sheldon 

Block, City Hospital 

10am – 3.30pm 

To check your eligibility or to book 

an appointment please contact 

Jatinder Sekhon or Emma Williams 

on ext 3306. 

Get your hospital 

appointments on 

time through early 

intervention referral 

Colleagues undergoing treatment within 

our hospitals can get seen earlier by our 

own specialists via the early intervention 

referral scheme. 

This service is available to all colleagues 

with a referral from a GP. Director of 

People and Organisation Development, 

Raffaela Goodby said: “We are aware that 

some colleagues have to wait a long time 

for services such as scans and diagnostic 

treatment. This often stops them from 

returning to work and sometimes they are 

off without a diagnosis. 

“Early intervention referral allows 

colleagues to take advantage of last minute 

cancellations enabling them to return to 

work sooner. This is a fantastic scheme 

which gives colleagues the opportunity to 

be seen by our teams of clinical experts. 

To find out more contact the 

occupational health team on ext 3306 

Free yoga classes at 

City Hospital 

The yoga classes were very popular 

throughout last year giving many 

colleagues the benefits of relaxation 

and wellbeing and we are delighted 

that they will be continuing in 2019. 

Classes take place in Millers Restaurant 

at City Hospital at the following times: 

Monday 12.30pm − 1.15pm 

4, 18 and 25 February 

11, 18 and 25 March 

Monday 4.45pm – 5.45pm 

4, 18 and 25 February 

4, 11, 18 and 25 March 

Thursday 12.15pm – 1pm 

7, 14, 21 and 28 

February 

7, 14, 21 and 28 March 

To book a place 

please contact 

Jatinder Sekhon on 

ext 3306. 

Health and 

wellbeing courses 

Workplace stress management 

Tuesday 26 March 

The Berridge Room, Sandwell Hospital 

10am – 1pm 

Experiencing grief and loss 

Tuesday 19 February 


10am – 1pm 

Sleep hygiene and relaxation 

techniques seminar 

Problems sleeping? Do you want to be 

able to sleep better and feel better for 

getting a good night’s sleep? 

Thursday 9 March 

Anne Gibson Committee Room, 

City Hospital 

1.30pm – 4.30pm 

Assertiveness/confidence/resilience 

training 

Tuesday 12 March 


10am – 1pm 

Mental health training for 

managers 

Wednesday 13 February 


10am – 1pm 

Introduction to Mindfulness 

Does it every feel like your mind is 

constantly full of worries of the future, 

or concerns of the past? 

Tuesday 5 February 


10am – 1pm 

Wednesday 20 March 

Anne Gibson Board Room, City Hospital 

10am – 1pm 

To book a place on any of the 

above course please contact Emma 

Williams or Jatinder Sekhon on 

extension 3306 (option 4) 

8

Get active at the FREE 

Sandwell Gym 

If your New Year’s resolution is to get 

active and fit, then Sandwell gym is the 

place 

for you. 

Located on the ground floor of Trinity 

House, Sandwell gym is free to all 

colleagues and is open 24 hours a day 

seven days a week. 

Health and Wellbeing Manager, Jenny 

Wright said: “The gym at Sandwell is 

a really great benefit for colleagues. 

All you need to do in order to join is 

contact the occupational health team 

to book an induction. You can work 

out when it suits you and there are 

shower facilities right nearby.” 

For more information please call 

ext 3306. 

Self-refer for 

physiotherapy 

Are you suffering with a 

musculoskeletal problem? You don’t 

need to suffer in silence – use our selfreferral 

system for physiotherapy. 

Skin Cancer Support Clinical Nurse 

Specialist, Anne Rutland did and 

it made a real difference for her – 

she spoke to Heartbeat about her 

experience. 

“I fell down the stairs and had grabbed 

the banister to stop myself from falling 

– this caused an impingement injury 

which is the inflammation of tendons in 

the collar bone.” 

Anne takes part in archery 

competitively, so the injury caused her 

some problems with this. 

“I couldn’t lift up my arm past a certain 

point, so some everyday tasks were 

getting difficult and I was struggling 

with my archery. 

“I found out about the self-referral and 

decided to give it a go. It was really 

easy to get an appointment and the 

physio I saw was brilliant. After a full 

assessment, they found that the warm 

up I did before I took part in archery 

antagonised the injury, rather than 

helping. After attending the shoulder 

clinic once a week (for six weeks) at 

City Hospital, where we did a range 

of exercises to build up the strength, 

I felt much better and continued the 

exercises at home. 

“I have since returned to archery 

and have represented Worcestershire 

County and England and couldn’t be 

more grateful to the physios.” 

To make a referral please call 

0121 507 2664 (option 3) – ask for 

staff physio. For urgent referrals 

please call 07855 125495 (Mon – Fri 

8am – 4pm). 

Get more for your money 

in this year’s sales 

Don’t forget that you can save a little 

money while you shop till you drop in 

the sales by using your exclusive SWBH 

Benefits discounts. If you use one of 

our reloadable gift cards, you can make 

savings of up to 20 per cent on top of 

any in-store discounts! 

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Reloadable cards offer instant spending 

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from a wide range of cards, saving you 

money on the high street. 

To order a reloadable card, sign 

up to SWBH Benefits online at 

swbhbenefits.co.uk and you’ll be 

given access to the full range of staff 

benefits. 

Get debt free in 2019 with Neyber 

Neyber are here to help improve your 

finances so you can do more of what 

you love. When you sign up to SWBH 

Benefits, you gain access to Neyber’s 

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can build your financial knowledge and 

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repay directly 

from your salary. 

To find out more and access the 

Neyber wellbeing hub, please visit 

swbhbenefits.co.uk and click on the 

health and wellbeing tile and then 

fairer finance. 

9

Coaching and mentoring: Supporting 

colleagues to develop 


NEWS 

In today’s fast paced working 

environment every organisation 

needs a robust coaching and 

mentoring programme to help 

aspirational colleagues to develop 

and mature and we are no different. 

In September, we embarked on a 

brand new programme, supporting 

managers to develop the skills 

and knowledge to have ‘coaching 

conversations’ with their team. 

To find out more about how the 

coaching and mentoring programme 

is progressing, Heartbeat caught up 

with Learning and Development 

Manager, Nora Parsons, Trainer, Richard 

Burnell and coaching student Matron, 

Justine Irish. 

Nora said: “The first stage of our 


launched in September and over the 

past few months we’ve already seen 17 

managers join the programme which will 

continue until March. 

“Following this, we launch stage 

two, which will give colleagues the 

opportunity to gain accredited coaching 

and mentoring skills which we hope 

will enable the knowledge we share 

Some of the colleagues who are on the 


to become available to a much larger 

audience.” 

Richard Burnell is delivering the coaching 

and mentoring sessions. He added: 

“Coaching is a tool that all managers need 

to have at their disposal in order to get the 

best out of their teams. 

“It is all about listening to individuals 

and allowing them to develop their own 

solutions to problems, helping them 

to grow personally and professionally. 

“Our coaching skills course gives an 

understanding of the coaching process and 

looks at practical skills that can be taken 

away from the classroom and implemented 

in the work place.” 

One of the first people to embark on their 

coaching and mentoring journey was 

Community Matron, Justine Irish who 

shared her insight into the course. 

“I joined the coaching and mentoring 

programme to get some support to 

build my resilience within a challenging 

environment,” explained Justine. 

“Initially, I was very much led by the 

routine of switching my phone on and 

seeing where I was needed the most as 

opposed to feeling empowered to take 

responsibility for setting my own goals and 

them in turn becoming larger team goals. 

“I’ve developed in leaps and bounds 

with the techniques I’ve been taught and 

they’re helping me develop not only in a 

professional capacity but also personally 

and I can confidently say since having 

coaching I am much more in control of 

my working week and feel I have a clear 

plan for achieving goals within my teams. 

I also feel being able to use the skills 

with others has made me a much more 

appreciative listener, helping to set realistic 

goals for my colleagues and empowering 

them to take responsibility too. 

“You have nothing to lose when it comes 

to coaching and mentoring, at first I 

was sceptical, but now I’m thankfully for 

taking the leap and enrolling. The course 

is free, but I would I would happily have 

paid for my coaching.” 

For more information on coaching 

and mentoring, contact learning and 

development on extension 4794. 

Stay well this winter: Follow the 5 

moments for hand hygiene 

Winter doesn’t just bring with it cold 

weather and dark nights, it’s also a 

time when some of the most prevalent 

illnesses and ailments return to 

hospitals around the country and it’s 

our job to not only protect ourselves, 

but also our patients. 

Although we achieved herd immunity (80 

per cent of colleagues vaccinated against 

flu), we still need to take precautions to 

limit the spread of any infections. One 

of the best ways to protect both yourself 

and our patients is by following the basic 

principles of hand hygiene. 

Whilst many people think that a quick spray 

of alcohol hand gel is sufficient to sanitise 

your hands as you go on or off the wards – 

these are designed to be used in additional 

to traditional handwashing with soap and 

water. This is key to stopping the spread on 

infections, especially during winter. 

The ’5 Moments for Hand Hygiene’ is a 

World Health Organisation (WHO) initiative 

encouraging everyone who provides care to 

consider the risk of transmission of infection 

from health care workers’ hands. 

You should wash your hands in the 

5 moments below: 

1. Before touching a patient 

2. Before clean/aseptic procedures 

3. After body fluid exposure/risk 

4. After touching a patient 

5. After touching patient surroundings 

For more information on infection 

prevention and control, contact the 

team on extension 5900 or visit the IPC 

page on Connect. 

The 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene is a simple 

way to remember the five crucial moments for 

hand hygiene in patient care 

10

NHS Hero: Lead Chaplain, 

Mary Causer 

Our organisation is full of remarkable, 

motivated people, who give a lot to the 

communities we serve. Since 2014, we 

have been recognising our quiet heroes 

who come from a wide variety of 

backgrounds, and do a wide variety of 

jobs across our organisation. Each week 

we shine a spotlight on one of those 

heroes, and following an interview by 

our press office the Sandwell Chronicle 

publishes these inspirational stories. 

In Heartbeat this month, we feature our 

new Lead Chaplain, Mary Causer, who has 

taken over the position from Ann Stevens 

who retired in October. 

It was one of the most poignant moments 

that Rev Mary Causer has faced during her 

time working within the NHS. 

As a new chaplain, she was asked to marry 

an end-of-life care patient to his long- term 

girlfriend at City Hospital, Birmingham. 

“I had just started working at the Trust and 

was asked to marry a beautiful couple,” 

explained mum-of-one Mary, aged 51. 

“The patient very ill but wanted to carry out 

this one final act with his partner. 

“It was a sacred moment that was an 

important part of the process for him and 

his wife because they had been together for 

a while.” 

Mary, who has worked for our organisation 

Lead Chaplain, Mary Causer 

for over two years, added: “I had to organise 

the legal side of the marriage, and also be 

the emotional support - which was all a 

new experience to me. The ward team were 

amazing throughout and helped to decorate 

his room where we held the ceremony. 

“The patient sadly passed away soon 

afterwards, but I have kept in touch with his 

wife and she is very grateful that she was 

able to say her vows to her husband and it 

be witnessed by her family and friends.” 

Working within the NHS is certainly a big 

change from Mary’s previous job. 

She recalled: “I had come from working as 

a chaplain in a category A prison, so there 

was a big difference in the type of people I 

was working with. 

“But I really enjoy being here. My hope is 

that wherever I am across the Trust, I can 

make someone smile. I like making people 

Paul leads the charge on 

Fizz-Free February 


NEWS 

laugh, but it’s also about being 

in the right place at the right time for 

those people who need more direct 

spiritual input. 

“The chaplaincy is incredibly important 

and I see that my congregation isn’t a 

church, but a whole Trust. 

“There is no typical day for me because 

we offer a bespoke service for patients, 

their families and colleagues and I offer 

faith to those who are seeking it.” 

Mary decided to become a chaplain 

after studying theology at college. She 

had been invited to sing at a prison and 

during this she saw how the chaplain 

worked and it appealed to her. 

She said: “I didn’t really know what I 

wanted to do whilst I was at college, 

but singing at the prison helped me to 

come to a decision and I haven’t looked 

back since.” 

In her spare time Mary likes watching 

murder mysteries and also sprucing up 

her garden. So who is Mary’s hero? “It 

has to be Emmeline Pankhurst – she had 

no fear and she had a conscience that 

she lived out, making changes not just 

for England but across the world.” 

At the start of next month our deputy 

chief nurse will be spearheading our 

involvement in Fizz Free February – a 

campaign to get young people to 

reduce or cut out their intake of fizzy 

drinks, many of which have extremely 

high sugar content. 

The campaign is being run by a number 

of local authorities across the country, 

including Sandwell, and has the full 

support of local MP Tom Watson who lost a 

dramatic amount of weight in 2018. 

Our Deputy Chief Nurse, Paul Hooton, 

has committed our support to this vital 

campaign and throughout the month, he 

will be working alongside our children’s 

services to get this important message out 

to school-aged young people. 

Paul said: “I was privileged to meet Tom 

Watson recently who talked about his 

very inspirational health journey. We may 

not realise it, but fizzy drinks make up an 

average of 29 per cent of daily sugar intake. 

If you drink a can of coke every day for a 

month you will eat the equivalent of a bag 

of sugar. Fizzy drinks are also the largest 

single source of sugar for children aged 

eleven to eighteen. So if we’re going to get 

serious about childhood obesity, it starts 

with fizzy pop.” 

Deputy Chief Nurse, Paul Hooton is leading 

the Fizz-Free February campaign 

The hard truth about soft drinks: 

• You can save £438 a year if you 

stopped drinking one bottle of soft 

drink, per day for a year 

• Drinking just one 330ml can of fizzy 

drink a day could add up to over a 

stone weight gain per year 

• 79 per cent of fizzy drinks contain 6 

or more teaspoons of sugar per can 

(330ml) 

• Tooth decay is the leading cause for 

hospitalisation among 5-9 year olds 

in the UK, with 26,000 children 

being hospitalised each year due to 

tooth decay – in other words, 500 

each week 

11

Friends and family test – help us to 

improve the patient journey 


NEWS 

Our friends and family test (FFT) has 

been in place at our organisation 

since 2013, in an effort to improve 

patient experience at our hospitals. 

FFT was introduced by NHS England 

and was rolled out across the 

majority of NHS funded services in 

England. 

The test gives all patients the opportunity 

to give anonymous feedback on the 

care and treatment they have received 

and allows us to continually improve the 

services we provide. 

Patients are asked one simple question: 

‘How likely are you to recommend 

our ward/service to your friends and 

family if they needed similar care or 

treatment?’ 

They can rank their answer from 

‘extremely likely’ to ‘extremely unlikely’ 

and can also make a comment to explain 

their ranking and tell us more about 

their experience. 

In September last year we expanded the 

methods of how patients can complete 

the FFT, which now includes via SMS text 

messages and interactive voice messages, 

which has seen a steady increase in 

response rates. 

Patient Experience Project Facilitator, Shila 

Patel explained more about the importance 

of the FFT. 

“Since the introduction of the FFT, we have 

been able to make a number of changes 

which have improved our environment for 

patients,” said Shila. 

“These changes have included things such 

as; introducing sleep packs for patients at 

night, using soft closing bins to reduce noise, 

better quality meals, cutlery and crockery 

and an improvement in communication 

between patients and colleagues.” 

As well as the digital methods of 

completing the test, there are paper FFT 

postcards in all areas and completed ones 

should be returned to Shila to enable 

feedback to be collated and acted upon. 

“Feedback needs to be seen by colleagues 

providing the care in as near to real time as 

possible,” said Shila. 

“So please ensure you are returning 

the postcards as soon as possible, that 

way we can identify opportunities to 

make improvements that will really benefit 

our patients.” 

Should you require further information 

or additional FFT postcards for your 

area, please contact shila.patel@nhs.net 

or call extension 5188. 

Patient Experience Project Facilitator, Shila 

Patel leads the friends and family test 

Shout out has been a regular feature 

in Heartbeat for over a year now and it 

is fantastic to see colleagues regularly 

taking the time to give positive 

feedback to each other. 

We regularly receive positive feedback 

from our patients too, and this month 

we wanted to share some of those heartwarming 

messages which have been sent 

via our website and social media platforms. 

To: Claire Studdards 

Claire is a fantastic therapy assistant 

practitioner in our rapid response 

therapy team. She treats each of her 

patients holistically and takes a person 

centred approach to her problem solving 

and discharge planning. Thank you for 

going the extra mile to explore whether 

we could facilitate the discharge of a 

complex patient. You are a credit to the 

team! 

From: Suzanne Miles 

To: Jayde Hough 

Jayde makes an amazing assistant 

practitioner and puts her everything 

into her role. She is supportive, friendly, 

caring and always goes above and 

beyond for the service users she sees on 

a day to day basis. She never fails to put 

a smile on her colleagues’ faces even at 

the hardest of times. Three cheers for 

Jayde! 

From: Sarah Crump 

To: Cardiology Nursing Team 

Just a big thank you for their hard work 

and commitment over the Christmas 

period and New Year. It has been 

tough with sicker patients and added 

pressures. Teamwork makes the dream 

work – thank you. 

From: Laura Taylor 

To: Claire Wilson 

Claire has helped me with several 

tasks recently. Her support is very 

much appreciated. Claire has a sunny 

disposition and always finds time to 

help. Thank you Claire. 

From: Donna Mighty 

To: Amanda Healy 

Mandy is consistently kind, efficient, and 

good humoured. She always speaks with 

empathy and compassion, and helps the 

antenatal day assessment unity to run 

smoothly. 

From: Roisin Bailey 

To: Geraldine Attwood 

Active participation in multi-disciplinary 

ream, Gerry plays an integral part in 

facilitating fast turnaround for TTOs on 

Lyndon 5 – thank you. 

From: Vikki Howard 

To: Bridget Beaden and Mark Anderson 

Thank you to Bridget and Mark, for 

helping me sort out a patient referral. A 

GP practice reached out to the primary 

care liaison team as they had a patient 

join the practice who had already 

started cancer treatment in another 

area. The GP found it difficult using 

usual referral routes to get the patient 

into a pathway mid-point. Mark and 

Bridget helped us solve the problem 

quickly so the patient could continue 

treatment in a timely way. 

From: Dottie Tipton 

12

Lifeline support for addiction 

victims' families 

A new support group at City Hospital 

has been praised for its effort to help 

families and friends cope with their 

loved ones’ addictions. 

The support group, which started two 

months ago, is being run by two volunteers 

Dave and Tina James with support from our 

alcohol team. 

Dave explained: “We are both qualified 

facilitators and we aim to provide a safe 

environment in which people can feel 

confident to speak about their concerns and 

receive the support they need. 

“We’ve actually been through this journey 

ourselves as a family member used to have 

a serious drug dependency. Therefore, we 

absolutely understand how challenging it is 

for families and friends when trying to help 

their loved ones. 

“At our sessions, we provide confidential 

support for friends and family members of 

individuals whose alcohol use has become 

problematic, in order for them to feel more 

confident in dealing with situations. They 

will learn helpful tools and different ways of 

dealing with the problems caused by their 

loved ones’ alcohol misuse, such as better 

communication, how to cope with conflict, 

boundaries and supporting change. 

“There are many support groups for 

people with addictive behaviour, but not 

Tina and Dave James have introduced a new 

support group for families and friends of 

people with addictions 

many for friends and families. In the UK, 

it is estimated that several million families 

are directly affected by substance use and 

addictions. They also need help because 

addictive behaviour affects families’ 

finances, physical health and psychological 

wellbeing. 

“On average, we see five to six people per 

session and hope to see more so we can 

support them all.” 

Peter Marple, Alcohol Practitioner said: 

“The idea of bringing this support group to 

our organisation started when I met Dave 

at an event. After learning about what 

they had been doing and attending a few 

sessions myself, I felt that this group would 

be greatly beneficial to families and friends 

who need support during a difficult time. 


NEWS 

“When I learned that the group were 

looking for a new venue to run their 

sessions, I spoke to Arlene Copland 

(Alcohol Lead Nurse), about hosting the 

group at one of our hospitals. Arlene 

was excited about the idea and gave it 

her full support. 

“We are now able to meet at City 

Hospital twice a month. During the 

sessions, if people have medical 

questions, I can step in and answer 

them.” 

Dave, who is a full-time engineer, added: 

“We’re so grateful for the Trust’s support 

in giving us a place to run the evening 

sessions. It makes a huge difference to 

the people that we are helping.” 

The group meets every first and third 

Wednesday, between 6 – 7.30pm, in the 

diabetes seminar room on the first floor. 

Everyone is welcome and no booking is 

required. 

If you would like more 

information about the group, you 

can contact Peter via email at 

peter.marple@nhs.net and Dave at 

dave.smartff@protonmail.com. 

Hit the road for Your Trust Charity 

Is your New Year's resolution to get fit? 

Are you looking for a challenge? Do 

you want to make a difference? Why 

not combine these and sign up for the 

2019 Birmingham and Midlands Velo? 

The 100 mile closed bike ride will take place 

on Sunday 12 May – general entries have 

sold out, but Your Trust Charity have a 

number of spaces available. 

The ride starts in Birmingham City Centre 

and will take riders through Solihull, 

Warwickshire, Dudley and Sandwell, before 

finishing up in Coventry. 

This is an opportunity for both seasoned 

and new riders to get in the saddle and 

raise vital funds for Your Trust Charity. The 

cost to take part is £40 and you should raise 

a minimum of £300 sponsorship. 

For more information or to book 

your place contact Amanda on 

amanda.winwood@nhs.net or call 

0121 507 4847. 

Dr Roger Stedman, Consultant in Anaesthetics 

and Critical Care Medicine took on the Velo 

in 2017 

The 2019 Velo will take riders through some 

stunning countryside and panoramic views 

YOUR TRUST CHARITY 

@SWBHCharity To donate 

to the Your Trust Charity text 

“SWBH16 £5” to 70070 

13

Full dress rehearsal at a glance 

THREE 

DAYS 

150 

COLLEAGUES 

26 

CLINICAL 

AREAS 

PATIENT 

DIAGNOSES 

AND PROBLEMS 

RECORDED 

RECORD PATIENT 

ASSESSMENTS 

ELECTRONICALLY 

PROBLEMS 

RECORDED VIA 

SERVICE TEAMS 

AND HELPDESK 

PRESCRIBE 

MEDICATION 


REQUEST 

ORDERS 


MEDICATION 

ADMINISTERED 

AS PRESCRIBED 

RECORD 

PATIENT 

ALLERGY 

STATUS 

14

Journey to deliver a successful 

full dress rehearsal of Unity 

gathers steam 

As you pick up your latest edition 

of Heartbeat, there are fewer than 

three weeks left before the full 

dress rehearsal of Unity starts on 

Monday 11 February. 

11 

FULL DRESS REHEARSAL 

STARTS MONDAY 11 

FEBRUARY 2019 

A number of colleagues have 

been working hard behind the 

scenes to ensure we are able to 

fully test Unity in a business as 

usual context during the dress 

rehearsal. 

What has happened so far? 

Clinicians taking part in the 

full dress rehearsal have 

now completed transcription 

workshops. 154 colleagues 

will support the dress rehearsal 

across 26 clinical areas. 

22 January saw colleagues 

from across all sites gather 

for a clinical engagement 

event. Participants heard the 

experiences of going live from 

colleagues at West Suffolk NHS 

Foundation Trust and from 

Calderdale and Huddersfield 

Foundation Trust. They also had 

the opportunity to work through 

a patient pathway using Unity. 

What is still to happen 

before dress rehearsal? 

All users of Unity are to be 

trained by Thursday 31 January. 

Further information is available 

on Connect. 

A new e-learning package 

for Unity training will become 

available in March. 

The roll out of devices for dress 

rehearsal and eventual go-live 

is scheduled to be completed in 

time for the full dress rehearsal 

and subsequent go-live. 

In February, digital champions 

will undertake specialised 

training to support the dress 

rehearsal and eventual go-live. 

Unity dress rehearsal – 

what you need to know 

Full dress rehearsal is a complete 

run through of all activities that 

will take place when we go live 

with Unity. It is used to identify 

issues and drive out risk before 

the go-live of the new electronic 

patient record. 

Starting Monday 11 February, 

patients in identified clinical 

areas for example ED, clinics 

and wards will be seen as 

normal. Colleagues on the 

normal shift will work in parallel 

with colleagues who will be 

replicating the processing of 

patients on Unity. 

Liam Kennedy, Deputy Chief 

Operating Officer said: “There 

are 26 clinical areas taking part 

in the dress rehearsal. Within 

those areas, all the patients will 

be followed throughout their 

journey to ensure all processes 

on Unity are working. 

“During the rehearsal, colleagues 

will be able to use the newly 

installed equipment, including; 

bar code scanners, label printers, 

computers on wheels and 

scanners. We will be monitoring 

reports, problem resolution and 

end user experience, all of which 

will contribute to the supporting 

evidence that the executive team 

will review prior to making their 

in the decision on when go live 

will occur.” 

15

Cash boost transforms cancer care 

for our patients 

MEDICINE AND EMERGENCY 

CARE 

More than half a million pounds will 

be pumped into improving cancer 

services for our patients. 

Our organisation and Sandwell and West 

Birmingham Clinical Commissioning 

Group (CCG) are thrilled to have secured 

£543,000 funding from Macmillan 

Cancer Care. The money will help to 

transform services for people living with 

and beyond cancer across Sandwell and 

West Birmingham. We are one of only 

a few areas in the country to secure this 

level of investment. 

The funding will be used to implement 

the Macmillan’s recovery package 

across the cancer healthcare community. 

It is a model of care that puts greater 

emphasis on identifying people’s 

health and wellbeing needs and finding 

ways to address them through the 

provision of person-centred care, with 

patients empowered to self-manage 

where possible. 

Cancer Services Manager, Jenny 

Donovan is putting a team together, 

which will consist of five roles, including 

a manager, cancer support worker, 

admin support officer, practitioner and 

facilitator who will be based in primary 

care. 

Figures for the West Midlands show the 

number of people living longer than 

20 years with cancer was 159,700 in 

2010 and will increase by 50 per cent 

to 310,300 by 2030. However, mortality 

rates for cancer locally are higher than 

many areas of the UK. 

This is an exciting opportunity to 

make a real impact on how people 

are supported in the future. This new 

initiative will deliver a more consistent 

and effective service with improved 

access to support for those living with 

and beyond cancer. 

Dr Diana Webb, Lead Cancer Clinician 

said: “This is an important step for us in 

driving forward our plans to make sure 

that anyone attending our hospitals 

for cancer care receives the best 

possible outcomes. 

“We have a dedicated and experienced 

cancer workforce here, who are 

consistently striving for excellence 

in cancer care delivery and ensuring 

patients and their carers have the best 

possible experience. 

Jenny Donovan, who is putting together the Living with and Beyond Cancer team, which is funded 

by MacMillan Cancer Care 

“Already performing consistently on our 

cancer waiting times, we are currently 

working on plans to deliver optimal cancer 

pathways to ensure patients receive a faster 

diagnosis less than a month after their GP 

referral where cancer is suspected by 2020. 

“This new additional funding will see us 

continue our close working relationship with 

Macmillan, SWB CCG, Cancer Research 

UK and our primary care colleagues to 

ensure that a personalised, patient-centred 

approach remains at the heart of our care. 

“By embedding the Macmillan recovery 

package alongside our clinical care 

pathways, our patients will benefit from 

holistic needs assessment and care planning 

and have access to health and wellbeing 

events which will promote independence 

and healthy lifestyles. 

“Patient treatment summaries and GPled 

cancer care reviews will see improved 

communication and understanding between 

our primary care and acute specialist 

care colleagues, and new approaches to 

personalised cancer follow-up will see 

patients empowered in their recovery after 

treatment, and beyond.” 

Dr Nick Harding, Chair at NHS Sandwell 

and West Birmingham CCG, added: “We 

are delighted to secure this vital funding to 

help improve the experience of people living 

with and beyond cancer in Sandwell and 

West Birmingham. 

“The impact of cancer doesn't suddenly 

stop when treatment is over and we are 

committed to transforming services so 

that our patients benefit from high quality 

cancer care that supports them in their 

long-term recovery. 

“Our aim is to ensure that everyone receives 

the personalised care and support they 

need, when they need it, to live a happy 

and healthy life. 

“This important programme builds on 

our strong track record of making a step 

change in health through partnership 

and innovation. 

“Working in partnership with local GP 

practices and the Trust, we have already 

delivered pioneering initiatives such as the 

Primary Care Commissioning Framework 

(PCCF) scheme. 

“This has helped to save the lives of people 

with diabetes, reduce the number of strokes 

in Sandwell and West Birmingham by 

identifying over 1,000 people with atrial 

fibrillation (AF) and increased the number of 

people undertaking cancer screening.” 

16

Leading professor joins AMU team 

for pioneering research 

This year promises to bring a wealth 

of exciting opportunities to the acute 

medicine unit (AMU) as they welcome 

Professor Dan Lasserson to the team, 

whose aim is to help bring their 

research ambition to life. 

Professor Dan Lasserson, Chair of 

Ambulatory Care at the University of 

Birmingham, has joined the AMU team 

as an honorary consultant in ambulatory 

medicine. 

Speaking about his new role, he said: “I’m 

delighted to join the organisation and 

excited to work with the team. 

“I will be working closely with Dr Sarb Clare 

to build up academic activities in acute 

medicine and contribute to innovations in 

acute care models. My particular interest is 

in acute ambulatory care, and in supporting 

more acute medical care to be undertaken 

in community settings, using point of care 

technology. This organisation is one of the 

leading trusts in the West Midlands for the 

use of point of care echo and ultrasound 

The single point of access (SPA) 

service is to expand and become a 

seven-day operation following its 

success. The initiative, which was 

launched in November, has seen a 

total of 1,210 patients sent to the 

right clinical area. 

Colleagues attending a quality 

improvement half day dedicated to the 

service, heard about how the system 

works for paediatrics, surgery, medicine 

and gynaecology. 

It was also revealed how it would be 

rolled out across the organisation to 

other specialties. 

Dr Nuhu Usman said: “Our next phase 

is to expand the programme so that SPA 

can be available seven days a week and 

incorporate hot clinics into the project. 

This means that we will be able to book 

patients to see specialists at the earliest 

convenience, so that they can be seen 

by the right team and given the right 

treatment in the first place. 

“Today has been successful as we 

have a very good mix of attendees, 

including colleagues from AMU, surgery, 

Honorary Consultant in Ambulatory Medicine, 

Professor Daniel Lasserson has recently joined 

the AMU team 

and so is the natural partner for acute care 

innovators and researchers.” 

Dr Clare, Acute Medicine Consultant and 

Deputy Medical Director, added: “We are 

Seven day expansion for new 

SPA service 

Dr Nuhu Usman; Mr Ugo Otite, Consultant 

Urologist; Aliya Kaaba from the improvement 

team and local GP, Dr Tarig 

paediatrics, medicine, GPs, and the clinical 

commissioning group.” 

Hannah Ship, Commissioning Manager 

from Sandwell and West Birmingham 

CCG has been part of the project since its 

launch and has been working closely with 

the team and GPs to ensure this project’s 

success. 

She said at the event: “It’s good to be at the 

event today and meet our partners as well 

as teams at SWBH. 

“The performance has been very positive 


CARE 

privileged to have Dan join our team. His 

knowledge and skills will help us carry 

out extensive research in ambulatory 

care, so that we can develop a new way 

of working, which will hopefully enable 

us to see patients more quickly and more 

importantly enable prompt diagnosis and 

treatments. 

“Our vision is to bring ambulatory 

care to the community and upskill our 

partners, such as GPs and paramedics, so 

they can carry out ultrasounds and point 

of care diagnostics to examine and treat 

patients more quickly. With Professor 

Lasserson’s help, I truly believe that we 

will achieve that ambition. 

“In May we will also welcome our first 

research fellow in acute medicine to 

support us in delivering our research 

projects.” 

and the CCG is very pleased with the 

progress. The project has our strong 

support as we can see the benefits for 

patients. 

“Our role is to ensure that it works well 

between primary care and secondary 

care. 

We also encourage GPs to start 

changing the way they work so they can 

use SPA more effectively. 

“Our experience of working with SPA 

team has been very positive as they 

always keep us informed and engaged 

throughout the project. We look forward 

to continuing working with them in the 

next phase.” 

Janice Barrett, Clinical Lead for SPA, 

added: “The outcome from the event 

was very positive. It was a great 

opportunity to receive feedback from the 

teams and will help us to improve the 

service further. 

“We’re glad that SPA has made a huge 

difference to patients and helped reduce 

the pressure for many service. I would 

like to take this opportunity to thank 

everyone involved.” 

17

Weekly hep C clinic in the heart of 

our community 


CARE 

A new hepatitis C clinic which aims 

to help patients receive treatment 

quicker and closer to their home has 

officially opened in Smethwick. 

The much-needed service allows patients 

to be seen and treated by specialists 

from our organisation at the Alberta 

Building, run by Cranstoun Sandwell. 

Hepatitis C is a virus that can infect the 

liver and if left untreated, can sometimes 

cause serious and potentially lifethreatening 

damage to the organ. 

Dr Saket Singhal, Consultant 

Gastroenterologist, welcomed the 

opening. He said: “We are delighted to 

work with Cranstoun Sandwell to deliver 

this service. 

“This community-based service will give 

patients easier access to treatment, 

instead of having to travel to hospital. 

We know that a group of our patients, 

who are alcohol and drug dependent, 

have been reluctant to come to 

hospital for a number of reasons. By 

working with Cranstoun Sandwell, an 

L-R: Clare Smith, Liver Nurse Specialist; Zoe Buczko, Clinical Lead at Cranstoun Sandwell; Dr Saket 

Singhal, Consultant Gastroenterologist and Arron Own, Borough Manager at Cranstoun Sandwell 

organisation that is already helping patients 

with these issues, we hope to deliver better 

care. 

“We plan to visit the centre once a week and 

aim to treat 50 to 60 patients every year.” 

Arron Owen, Borough Manager at 

Cranstoun Sandwell, added: “We offer 

blood - borne virus testing to all our 

patients and have an on-site clinic, which 

will make accessing vital treatment for 

hepatitis C much easier. 

“Our staff are excited about this 

development and are looking forward to 

not only improving our knowledge of this 

virus but also being able to offer patients 

the treatment more efficiently. 

“We hope this local initiative will contribute 

to the World Health Organisation’s strategy 

to eliminate viral hepatitis as a major public 

health threat by 2030.” 

It is estimated around 215,000 people in 

the UK have hepatitis C. Most infections 

occur in people who inject drugs or have 

injected them in the past. As hepatitis C 

often doesn’t have noticeable symptoms, 

the only way to know for certain if someone 

has the virus is for them to be tested. 

For more information about the service, 

please contact Cranstoun Sandwell on 

0121 553 1333. 

The best pregnancy for mums-to-be 

WOMEN AND CHILD HEALTH 

The maternity team is encouraging 

pregnant women to use a mobile 

application to access information about 

their pregnancy more quickly. 

The UK Maternity Portal is an application for 

smartphones, tablets and PCs, which allows 

women and their GPs real time access to 

maternity records. 

The portal, which has a direct link to our 

organisation’s maternity health records, 

provides women instant information, 

including their blood pressure results, their 

babies’ development and when their next 

appointment is. 

Joanne Bryer, Midwife, explained: “We have 

found the app to be really popular – over 

2,000 people have used it so far. 

“This app not only provides women with 

all the necessary information about their 

The UK Maternity Portal allows mums-to-be instant access to information about their pregnancy 

health records, it also gives them links to 

online patient leaflets and useful literature 

about pregnancy and looking after newborn 

babies. 

“Women can also update where they would 

like to give birth. The information will help 

their midwives plan ahead for their delivery. 

“GPs also have the access to the records in 

real time, which means they can keep up-todate 

with their patients’ health. 

“We believe this app is very useful for mumsto-be, 

midwives, and GPs.” 

Women who have been referred to City 

Hospital are encouraged to ask their 

midwives about the app. They will be given a 

secure username and password so they may 

only access their own data. 

18

New consultant midwife appointed 


Lydia Nestor has been appointed as our new consultant midwife 

Lydia Nestor, a long standing member of 

the maternity team has been named as 

our new consultant midwife. 

Lydia actually trained as a nurse at Sandwell 

Hospital, where she worked for six months 

after qualifying, before realising that her 

heart was set on becoming a midwife. 

18 months of training followed before she 

qualified as a midwife. Her first post was 

a rotational role at New Cross Hospital in 

Wolverhampton, before she returned to 

Sandwell Hospital (where our maternity 

services were based then) in 1986. 

“I have been here ever since,” laughed Lydia 

when Heartbeat caught up with her to find 

out more about her new role. 

“Throughout my time here I have had the 

opportunity to work within integrated teams, 

both in hospital and in the community and 

I was able to gain an appreciation for a 

woman’s care as part of their family unit 

and seeing the impact of care quality on the 

family for many years to come.” 

Lydia was appointed as a midwifery manager 

in early 2000 and has been given various 

opportunities to learn and develop which 

she says have helped her on her journey to 

becoming our new Consultant Midwife. 

“My experience in a number of leadership 

roles has been strengthened by the 

leadership programmes supported by the 

organisation’s learning and development 

department. This has really helped me to 

further my understanding of links between 

good leadership, team effectiveness and the 

delivery of high quality compassionate care.” 

One of the main functions for the consultant 

midwife role is acting as an expert reference 

point for midwives and the multi-disciplinary 

teams, aiming to improve outcomes and 

patient experience. It requires keeping the 

woman as the focus of her care and to 

normalise their experience of maternity care 

wherever possible. 

Lydia explained more: “For many women, 

maternity care and birth is a normal process, 

but due to our complex demographic area, 

this is not the case for all of our patients. 

“Our service provides a range of specialist 

obstetric consultant clinics that care for 

women in pregnancy with conditions such as 

hypertension, diabetes, mental ill-health, and 

other medical conditions.” 

Lydia runs a weekly psychological 

wellbeing clinic for ladies that require 

additional care, planning and those are 

experiencing anxiety due to a variety of 

sources. 

“The women who attend the clinic are 

fearful of the maternity process and 

particularly of giving birth, said Lydia.” 

“At their appointment I try and 

understand what has happened and 

we talk through the options for birth, 

including pain relief and place of birth. 

“Some of the ladies feel better able to 

cope after one appointment, but others 

need more and some leave with an 

open appointment to return if they need 

to. I have also set up some telephone 

consultation clinics for women that I have 

already met, which will save their travel 

time or time out of work etc. 

“I also see women postnatally, so we 

can debrief on their experience, which 

reduces the chance of them developing 

postnatal depression or trauma symptoms 

and helps to keeps them psychologically 

well as they move on with their family 

life. For some, this forms planning for 

their next birth.” 

Aside from the clinics and work with 

individual patients, Lydia will play a vital 

role in shaping the future of maternity 

care across the region as we implement 

the recommendations from Better Births, 

the maternity five year forward view. 

A key priority for this work is reorganising 

teams to provide improved 

continuity of carer. Another key priority is 

to set up a Maternity Voices partnership, 

a local group which will consist of women 

and their families, commissioners and 

providers working together to review and 

contribute to the development of local 

maternity care. 

It is clear from talking to Lydia that she 

has a genuine passion and excitement for 

her new role. As an internal candidate 

for the role, Lydia was able to spend 

time shadowing Kathryn Gutteridge (our 

previous consultant midwife who retired 

last year) at a number of clinics to ensure 

continuity of this valuable service. 

“Kathryn passed the baton on so to 

speak,” said Lydia. 

“I am really looking forward to carrying 

on her work and to being able to make a 

different to patients and their families of 

Sandwell and West Birmingham.” 

19

Maternity lead the way on 

VTE assessments 


Our maternity service has been 

making fantastic progress with venous 

thromboembolism (VTE) assessments 

culminating in the organisation 

collectively achieving a 95 per cent 

threshold in December. 

VTE is a condition in which a blood clot 

forms, most often in the deep veins of 

the leg, groin or arm (known as deep vein 

thrombosis) and travels in the circulation, 

lodging in the lungs (known as pulmonary 

embolism,). Pulmonary embolism is one of 

the most common direct causes of maternal 

death in the UK. Together, these are known 

as VTE which is a dangerous and potentially 

life threatening medical condition if not 

detected or treated. 

National reports from the confidential 

enquiries into maternal deaths have 

highlighted past failures in recognising 

risk factors for VTE and using adequate 

prophylaxis, particularly as the population 

Heralding the new 'bugle' 

for theatres 

SURGICAL SERVICES 

In October 2018, our three theatre sites 

(BMEC, City Hospital and Sandwell 

Hospital) merged and the matrons on 

each site were faced with the challenge 

of how to communicate effectively to 

a large group of staff across different 

locations. 

They came up with the idea of the ‘Theatre 

Bugle’ – a monthly newsletter which is 

available for colleagues to read across all the 

theatre rest areas. 

Heartbeat spoke to Theatre Matrons, Louisa 

Adams (Sandwell), Martin Beard (City) and 

Les Hodgkinson (BMEC) to find out more. 

“One of the first challenges we faced when 

we merged was how to communicate 

consistently with colleaues across the 

different sites,” said Louisa. 

“We introduced the Theatre Bugle at the 

end of October and it has gone down really 

well with the team.” 

Claire Cushing, Ward Manager on M2 

of childbearing women has become more 

complex. 

Pregnancy is associated with a tenfold 

increase in VTE, with the immediate 

postnatal period being the time where the 

risk is at its highest. Therefore all pregnant 

women who are admitted require VTE 

assessment to be performed within 24 

hours of admission so any additional 

risks can be highlighted and ensure 

the appropriate care is planned and 

implemented. 

Improving communications in theatres are (l-r) 

Matrons, Martin Beard, Les Hodgkinson and 

Louisa Adams 

Martin added: “We use it to deliver 

information to colleagues on a variety of 

subjects, ranging from policy reminders 

to cancellation processes and staff survey 

reminders. We also share the latest Unity 

information so they are aware the training 

requirements.” 

“We share good news as well,” said Les. 

“Achievements across the three sites are 

included to inspire other theatre areas to 

Claire Cushing, M2 Ward Manager 

appreciates the importance of VTE 

assessments in caring appropriately for 

our pregnant women and new mothers. 

She said: “It is crucial that we achieve 

100 per cent compliance so that we can 

ensure all women have had the relevant 

risk assessment performed and the 

required treatment provided, if needed. 

“When it was announced we had 

reached 95 per cent in December I was 

delighted but we must make sure we 

continue and strive to achieve 100 per 

cent throughout 2019.” 

She added: “There have been a few 

changes in the process of performing 

VTE with the system we use in maternity, 

therefore effective communication has 

been required to ensure all colleagues 

feel confident in performing VTE 

assessments. 

“Additional training has been provided 

to ensure our multi-disciplinary team 

are all working to the same standard to 

achieve our current VTE percentage.” 

implement good practice.” 

The Bugle also shares information on key 

performance indicators (KPIs) and important 

information for the team such as PDR 

compliance, training, audit information and 

incident reporting and colleagues are finding 

it useful. 

Louise Horton, Theatre Manager for BMEC 

said: “It is a very good mechanism for 

relaying information. It gives us an overview 

of what’s happening across all sites and 

makes us feel less isolated. 

Lisa Lewin, Senior Theatre Practitioner at 

Sandwell commented: “It’s good to know 

what is going on in the other theatres and to 

keep up to date with current vacancies and 

how we are doing with our KPIs.” 

Balbir Kaur, Theatre Manager at City Hospital 

added: “It is concise and to the point. It 

is easy to pick it up during a break and 

quickly find out information from across the 

different sites.” 

Louisa concluded: “The matron group hopes 

that the Theatre Bugle will continue to bring 

the theatre department together by sharing 

key information and good new stories.” 

20

Audiology share new ways to 

respond to patient views 

SURGICAL SERVICES 

Colleagues in audiology have been working to improve their engagement with patients 

Two years ago colleagues in audiology 

decided it was time to review and 

refresh how they went about engaging 

with and involving patients in service 

development. Thus began their journey 

to moving their age old paper feedback 

forms in to the digital forms they are 

now. 

Recognising that paper feedback forms 

were time consuming (both for patients 

and colleagues processing them), heavily 

biased due to patients completing them in 

clinic and limited in their response rates, 

the department began to look for a more 

modern solution. 

To find out more about their journey, 

Heartbeat caught up with Audiologist, 

Fiona Bowen, she said: “We knew for a 

while that we needed a better solution, the 

paper forms we had used long since passed 

their usefulness and before long we found 

Smart Surveys. 

“Now, using the new survey system, we’re 

able to sample 100 patients each and every 

month by sending them a text message 

link to a feedback survey that they can 

complete. Because the patients get the 

link on their phone, they can complete 

and return it quickly and easily, the 

responses are open and honest and 

there is no bias. 

“Each quarter, we download the data 

and analyse the results and since we 

began using this system we have seen 

our response rates rise, as well an 

increase in suggestions and comments 

for service improvements.” 

Noting the one caveat to the system, 

being that patients need to have a 

smartphone, the department also offers 

a range of manual feedback solutions, 

with ‘sad and glad’ boards available 

in the department, where patients 

can indicate what made them sad or 

glad about their experience as well as 

traditional comment cards. 

Looking to the future, the department 

will be aiming to roll out tailored digital 

surveys to each service area within 

audiology including paediatrics and 

specialist services. 

To find out more, contact Fiona 

Bowen on Fiona.york@nhs.net 

Eye spy new wheelchairs in BMEC 

Kind hearted local charity, Aashiana 

have donated brand new wheelchairs 

to the Birmingham and Midland Eye 

Centre (BMEC) emergency department, 

which will make a real difference to 

patients. 

Many people who arrive at BMEC have 

reduced mobility and can be distressed due 

to their eye conditions, so getting around 

the centre can be a challenge, especially 

as BMEC is the second largest facility of 

its kind in Europe. The fully adjustable 

wheelchairs will support some of our most 

vulnerable patients to be able to navigate 

around the centre with ease. 

Carlene Oliver, Manager BMEC ED is 

thankful for the donation and said: “I 

would like to say a massive thank you 

to Ashok Puri and Aashiana for their 

generosity. 

Carlene Oliver, Manager BMEC ED (centre) 

with members of Aashiana charity 

“The wheelchairs they have donated will 

allow us to easily transport patients with 

reduced mobility to various departments 

within BMEC and those patients who 

require admission to the eye ward. This 

in turn will ultimately improve patients’ 

journey and their experience when they 

come to our facility. 

Aashiana are a Cradley Heath based 

charity formed of friends and families 

which aim to support the local 

community in any way they can. 

Ashok Puri, Chairman said: “We feel 

very proud to be able to support the 

hospital by offering wheelchairs. If by us 

doing so helps even one person in the 

hospital, it will have been worthwhile. 

“One of our main objectives as a charity 

is to offer a helping hand to the elderly 

and certainly believe donating these 

wheelchairs is a step towards that.” 

21

Friends' donation gets 

patients moving 

PRIMARY CARE, COMMUNITIES 

AND THERAPIES 

An £18,000 donation from the 

League of Friends at City and 

Sandwell Hospitals is helping to 

get patients on our community 

wards moving more. The money 

has been used to purchase three 

Thera-Trainers – specially adapted 

bikes which allow patients to exercise 

their legs or upper body from a chair 

or wheelchair. 

Heartbeat spoke to Advanced 

Physiotherapist, Matthew Craven to 

find out how the bikes are making a 

difference to patients. 

“A few months ago we had a Thera- 

Trainer on loan from a company,” 

said Matthew. 

“We audited its use and found that 

we were using it with several patients 

everyday so I decided to put in an 

application for funding from the League 

of Friends. 

“Thankfully it was accepted and Sandwell 

Hospital League of Friends funded 

two Thera-Trainers, one for Leasowes 

Intermediate Care Centre and Henderson 

Unit at Rowley Regis Hospital whilst City 

Hospital League of Friends provided the 

funding for the machine on D47. 

“The patients we work with are 

medically fit for discharge from hospital, 

but they often require assistance with 

their mobility to help them with their 

walking or recover their ability to do 

daily activities.” 

Matthew helps Eilieen set-up the thera-trainer for her therapy session 

L-R: Pam Emerson, League of Friends Volunteer; Judith Whalley, Chair of City Hospital League of 

Friends; Matthew Craven, Advanced Physiotherapist and patient Eilieen Wood 

Often the patients that Matthew and the 

intermediate care physiotherapists work 

with are in their 80s and 90s, so using 

conventional equipment for their therapy is 

not normally possible. 

Matthew explained: “In most circumstances, 

we couldn’t ask an 85 year old patient to 

climb onto a traditional exercise bike, but 

the beauty of the Thera-Trainer is that there 

is no climbing required at all. You can simply 

wheel a wheelchair in or transfer the patient 

to a normal chair if they are able and they 

can use the trainer to cycle with their legs 

or their hands – or both if they are feeling 

particularly energetic!” 

Patients can spend between 10 and 30 

minutes on the Thera-Trainer, depending 

on their level of tolerance, but Matthew 

said they have definitely seen an increase 

in the patients’ motivation for their therapy 

sessions since the trainers were delivered. 

“Previously, we would be asking patients to 

do exercises such as 10 leg raises or 10 arm 

raises, which could become fairly boring for 

them, especially when they have a therapy 

session every day. 

“But the Thera-Trainers have screens on 

which allow them to play little games whilst 

they are exercising. They can pedal to move a 

car around a track and it also tells them how 

fast or how far they are going – it is much 

more motivating for them. 

“They find it really enjoyable and we are 

finding that more patients are wanting to 

use the trainers outside of their therapy 

session which is fantastic. The more exercise 

they are doing – the quicker their recovery 

will be.” 

Ernest Loynes, aged 91, has really enjoyed 

using the bike: “It’s fantastic - I never 

thought I would ride a bike again at my age, 

but I can work up a sweat without worrying 

about falling off.” 

Matthew is full of praise for the League of 

Friends: “I can’t say how grateful we are 

to the League of Friends at both City and 

Sandwell Hospitals. 

“The money they donated for us to be able 

to purchase the Thera-Trainers has made 

such a difference to our patients already and 

I know the equipment will continue to help 

us to provide a better level of therapy and 

get patients back to their families sooner.” 

22

Speech & language therapists introduce 

new guidelines for safer swallowing 

A new international framework to 

describe modified foods and fluids 

for those with dysphagia (swallowing 

difficulties) has been introduced. 

The International Dysphagia Diet 

Standardisation Initiative (IDDSI) 

will replace the current UK national 

descriptors. 

Heartbeat spoke to Speech and Language 

Therapist, Briony Storey to find out more 

about the new framework and how it will 

impact on colleagues and patients. 

“The intention of the IDDSI framework is to 

improve patient safety,” said Briony. 

“Standardised descriptors and testing 

methods will allow modified fluid and diet 

consistencies to be easily replicated between 

community, home and hospital. 

“The previous three stages (syrup, custard, 

pudding) of thickened fluids will change 

to four IDDSI levels. In line with this, the 

product and packaging will also change 

to reflect the new levels and make it easier 

to use.” 

The new frame work is approved by the 

The new IDDSI continuum has eight levels 

(0-7) and is coded with labels, numbers and 

colours 

Royal College of Speech and Language 

Therapists and their aim is for all UK 

manufactures and healthcare settings to be 

fully compliant with the IDDSI framework by 

April 2019. 

The speech and language therapy 

department are working closely with many 

departments across the organisation to 

implement the changes safely and effectively. 

Briony explained further: “We have been 

PRIMARY CARE, COMMUNITIES 

AND THERAPIES 

working with nutrition and dietetics, 

catering, IT and communications to 

prepare for the change. We will also be 

holding training sessions and workshops 

on priority wards which will demonstrate 

the new levels. We will be working closely 

with nursing colleagues to ensure the safe 

implementation of the changes. 

“Oral nutritional supplements will also 

meet IDDSI guidelines and these will be 

introduced into the Trust early this year.” 

More information about the 

changes will appear on Connect 

and in the communications bulletin, 

so please keep your eye out for 

this information. If you have any 

questions, you can contact the speech 

and language therapy department on 

0121 507 4486 (option 2) and you can 

also follow them on Twitter 

(@swbh_slt) where they will be 

posting regular updates. 

‘WeAllGetInvolved’ drives improvement 

in nuclear medicine & radiopharmacy 

Medical imaging is a complex but 

important part of any hospital and it’s 

no different here. Nuclear medicine uses 

radioactive radiopharmaceuticals to 

create images of how different organs 

function in the body to help diagnose 

medical conditions and the process 

involves many colleagues, including 

radiopharmacists, physicists and 

technologists. 

When so many different roles are working 

together, good communication and 

teamwork is essential and it was this 

communication strategy that was the topic 

of the poster that Bill Thomson, Consultant 

Physicist and Clinical Director submitted for 

the welearn poster competition. 

The ‘WeAllGetInvolved’ communication 

strategy has seven stages; WeThink, 

WeWrite, WeMeet, WeDiscuss, WePlan, 

WeEmail and WeChat - Heartbeat caught up 

with Bill to find out more. 

He said: “All the team are encouraged 

to come up with new ideas on how to 

enhance the existing service. They are 

then given freedom to share their ideas 

on a whiteboard, deliberately positioned 

The nuclear medicine and radiopharmacy 

team all play a part in driving service 

improvement 

in our staff room, for discussion at our 

QIHD meeting. This simple concept of the 

whiteboard drives our meeting agenda. So 

all colleagues are directly involved in setting 

the discussion points for our meetings. 

“We meet and discuss the ideas at our local 

QIHD. Following on from these discussions 

we put together action plans on how we 

were going to take forward ideas we all 

thought were beneficial, usually through a 

small team.” 

Bill and his directorate have already been 

able to make many improvements through 

this scheme. 

IMAGING 

“We’ve been able to achieve a lot as a 

result of getting everyone involved and 

feeling that they are directly able to make 

a difference. 

“This has included introducing an 

automatic text messaging reminder 

service for outpatients to reduce DNA 

rates, developing an inventory of 

equipment that can be easily transferred 

to Midland Met when we move, 

standardising image protocols across 

the three gamma camera systems and 

researching a new meal recipe choice and 

normal range for gastric emptying which 

could become a UK standard procedure 

going forward. 

“These changes made within the 

directorate have also helped contribute 

towards positive scores on latest ‘Your 

Voice’ survey with a 68 per cent response 

rate, 90 per cent involvement and 80 per 

cent motivation. All from a simple white 

board!” 

23

Pulse 

News in brief from around our organisation 

If you have a story you would like to appear 

on the Pulse page, please email a photo and a 

short explanation to emily.smith46@nhs.net 

Vy waves goodbye 

Senior External Communications Officer, 

Vy Tran has waved goodbye to SWBH this 

month after four years working within our 

communications team. 

She is a familiar face to many – and 

her smile and cheerful personality will 

definitely be missed. 

Good luck in your new job Vy. 

Millicent gets a letter from 

the Queen 

Beaming inpatient Millicent Ferguson 

was delighted to receive a card from 

the Queen to congratulate her and her 

husband Edgar on their Diamond Wedding 

anniversary. 

Millicent came to Sandwell Hospital 

on Christmas Eve after suffering from 

breathing problems. After excellent care 

from our nursing staff, she was discharged 

on 28 December (the day of her 

anniversary) and was able to celebrate the 

occasion with her family in the comfort of 

her own home. 

She said: “It was fabulous to receive the 

card from the Queen. It really perked me 

up, although I have experienced really 

good care here and everyone has looked 

after me well.” 

Jane ditches the cigarettes 

Congratulations to Jane Ashmore, Ward 

Clerk at Leasowes who has now been 

smokefree for nine weeks. 

Jane, who smoked between 15 and 20 

cigarettes a day for over 15 years, visited 

her GP and started a smoking cessation 

programme. She now has an inhalator 

and nicotine patches and is enjoying her 

smokefree life. 

“My father was astonished,” said Jane. 

“My family never thought I could do it – 

but I have! 

“I feel really good and I have a lot more 

energy.” 

Jane believes that she is saving around 

£250 each month from not buying 

cigarettes, which she plans on using 

towards a holiday. 

Senior External Communications Officer, Vy 

Tran is moving to join Helpforce – a charity 

that recruits volunteers for the NHS 

Millicent Ferguson was delighted to 

show colleagues on Priory 4 her letter 

from the Queen 

Well done Jane – you are an inspiration to 

others looking to quit. 

If you are looking to follow in 

Jane’s shoes, there is lots of support 

available for you from occupational 

health – contact them on extension 

3306. 

Ward Clerk, Jane Ashmore has been smoke 

free for nine weeks 

Do you want to join the 

disability and long term 

conditions staff network? 

The disability and long term conditions 

staff network are looking for new 

members to join their group. Meetings 

take place every two months and are open 

to anyone who would like to attend – 

with or without a disability or long term 

conditions. 

The meetings (which always involve food!) 

are an opportunity to talk to like-minded 

people and help the Trust to shape its 

strategy for managing diversity and 

inclusion. 

Anyone who would like to be kept 

informed or contribute to the group 

without formally attending meetings 

is welcome to contact richard. 

burnell@nhs.net and can be added 

to the mailing list. 

2019 meeting dates 

• 15 February 

Room 15 Education Centre 


• 12 April 

Anne Gibson Board Room 

City Hospital 

• 21 June 



• 30 August 

Anne Gibson Board Room 

City Hospital 

• 18 October 



Members of the disability long term 

conditions staff staff network 

24

Emma Archer Associate Head of Pharmacy 

Operations, Business and Projects 

It’s not only a ‘hello’ this month, but also 

‘welcome back’ to Emma Archer, who 

has joined as our new associate head 

of pharmacy operations, business and 

projects. 

Emma trained as a pharmacy technician 

following two years training at the General 

Hospital Birmingham. She had a short stint 

at George Elliot Hospital, before arriving 

at Sandwell Hospital (pre the Trust merge) 

where she enjoyed seven years working in 

dispensary, aseptics and ward based services. 

Emma moved to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital 

Birmingham as dispensary manager, where 

she stayed for 13 years. 

“During this time, my role progressed to 

encompass Selly Oak dispensaries and crosssite 

ward based services,” explained Emma. 

“I was appointed to the role of associate 

director of pharmacy by my then boss, Dr 

Keith Ridge CBE, who is now the chief 

pharmacist for the UK.” 

In 2013, Emma moved to Birmingham 

Children’s Hospital for a better work/life 

balance as she looked to start a family. 

“My husband and I have twin boys who are 

now four and will be starting school this 

year,” said Emma. 

“After working part-time managing the 

pharmacy homecare team, I felt it was the 

right time to step back into full-time work 

and I was delighted when the opportunity to 

return to Sandwell Hospital came up.” 

Emma’s role as associate head of pharmacy 

operations, business and projects means she is 

responsible for dispensaries, procurement and 

distribution cross-site. 

She said: “I will be working with Pun (Sharma, 

Chief Pharmacist) to lead new projects 

which include the outsourcing of outpatient 

dispensing and the further roll out of Pyxis 

medicine cabinets across the organisation. 

There will also be a lot of work to prepare the 

service for the move to Midland Met.” 

So what is Emma most looking forward to 

about her new role? 

“I was happy working at Sandwell before 

and I already feel I have returned to a friendly, 

positive organisation,” smiled Emma. 

“I am looking forward to using the 

knowledge and skills gained through my time 

working in hospital pharmacy to improve 

services and support colleagues in their 

development. 

“It’s an exciting time to join the team with 

Midland Met on the horizon.” 

Emma Archer, Associate Head of Pharmacy 

Operations, Business and Projects joined us 

this month 

Wave goodbye to… 

Jean Bennington 

Senior Receptionist 

A senior receptionist in our 

occupational health department retired 

at the end of last year after 22 years at 

our organisation. 

Jean Bennington joined as a phlebotomist 

in 1997, a role which she enjoyed, however 

when staff reductions were made in the 

department, Jean decided to try and use 

her administrative skills and qualifications 

elsewhere. 

“I spent some time working in the 

recruitment department,” said Jean. 

“And in 2000 I joined occupational health 

as a senior receptionist. I have very much 

enjoyed the last 18 years with the team and 

the wide variety of the work I have been 

involved in. 

“I can remember when appointments were 

handwritten into the paper diary, which 

seems a world away from the impressive 

paper light system we have now.” 

Jean also played a major part in the 

development of the pioneering Sandwell 

occupational health computer system, 

which has now been developed into the 

‘Cohort’ computer system – the number 

one occupational health computer system 

used around the world. 

So what will Jean miss most about her 

working life? 

“The people,” she said without hesitation. 

“Not only my wonderful colleagues, but the 

rest of the staff who are our patients. I have 

always enjoyed helping people and will miss 

the satisfaction that this brings.” 

Tracy Lees, Nurse Manager said: “Jean is a 

larger than life personality, hardworking, full 

of zest, creativity, new ideas and enthusiasm 

to change and improve the way we do 

things in occupational health. She will be 

greatly missed.” 

Jean plans to spend her retirement by 

going on regular holidays with her husband 

– but she has already told him that she 

can’t go away in October…as she will be 

returning on the bank to help with the 

2019 flu campaign! 

Senior Receptionist, Jean Bennington with her colleagues from occupational health at her 

retirement party 

25

Letters, of less than 200 words please, can be sent to the Communications Department, 

Trust Headquarters, Sandwell Hospital or by email to swb-tr.SWBH-GM-Heartbeat@nhs.net 

YOUR RIGHT TO BE HEARD 

26 

Why is Leasowes forgotten? 

Dear Heartbeat, 

Just over 3 years ago I wrote a letter to 

you regarding the shuttle bus stopping 

at Leasowes to pick up staff when they 

need to go training. 

I did get a reply from Toby Lewis 

promising to look into this matter. 

Christmas of that year he came to 

Leasowes to wish us a merry Christmas, 

he saw me and said Neil I'm like a dog 

with a bone regarding the issue (he may 

have meant a dinosaur bone) to this day 

there has been nothing done about this 

matter. 

We at Leasowes feel that when it suits 

we are part of the trust, but when things 

are needed we are isolated and excluded 

which is frustrating us hugely. 

I look forward to hearing from you. 

Many Thanks 

Neil Smallman 

HCA at Leasowes 

Neil, 

Thanks for your letter and I well 

remember the conversation. At the 

time I looked into this and the time 

loss from diversion for occasional use 

was going to be problematic. The 

bus usually proceeds down to the 

roundabout by Warley Superstore, 

but in traffic diverts and misses that 

leg of the journey. What we could 

do is either have a dial-up divert 

when there is a user at Leasowes, or 

a limited run each day to help travel 

between sites. 

In addition, as part of the car park 

proposals we are looking at staff 

transit from major railway stations, 

and if getting to work is the main 

Leasowes need then that might be 

better. 

I am sorry you feel the site is not 

properly part of our Trust. I don’t 

feel that it is but once we have 

sorted out the IT in your site, and 

therefore communication reaches 

you more easily, I hope that the 

feeling you have will change. 

I was on the site just before 

Christmas, and although you did 

not win the Christmas decorating 

contest, I was really struck by the 

continued positive feel that you and the 

team have engendered for patients. 

Best wishes, 

Toby Lewis 

Chief Executive 

A waste of time and money? 

Dear Heartbeat, 

Can I ask why are patients are sent letters to 

make appointment then when they phone 

up to make the appointment to be told 

sorry the dairy is not open now we will send 

you out an appointment when the dairy is 

open, this defeats the objective of making 

appointment when it is convenient for both 

parties this has happened to my wife and 

myself over the last 6 months by different 

clinics. 

This has got to be a waste of time and 

money surly it would be better to send out 

the letters when the diary is open to take 

bookings. 

Thanks, 

Anon 

Dear Colleague, 

Thanks for the letter. 

At our Trust we run a partial booking 

system that aims to give patients more 

choice of the appointment date and 

time, allowing them to agree this 

nearer the time that the appointment 

is needed rather than several months in 

advance. 

The contact centre sends out letters to 

patients inviting them to ring to book 

their appointment if they are due to be 

seen within the next six weeks. Our aim 

is that all patients can get booked into 

one of those slots at the time of their 

choosing but this is not always possible. 

I am sorry that this appears to be the 

case for you and your wife and I am 

very happy to look into this for you if 

you contact me directly. 

We are constantly looking into ways 

to improve our booking arrangements 

by matching up the available slots with 

the numbers we invite to make an 

appointment. 

Kind regards, 

Liam Kennedy 

Deputy Chief Operating Officer 

How do we claim for EU 

settlement? 

Dear Toby, 

With great interest I read your recent 

message regarding the EU nationals in the 

trust. I am one of them. 

Me and my colleagues from the EU are 

happy to hear that the trust made the 

decision to pay / reimburse the £65 fee. 

However, it doesn't state how we have to 

claim it. 

We would appreciate if you or HR could 

advise how to the claim the fee. 

I am looking forward to hear from you. 

Kind regards, 

Anon 

Dear Colleague, 

Thank you for your letter. 

It was an easy decision for the Board to 

make to fund EU settlement claims; we 

want you to stay with us to continue 

to work to build a diverse care system, 

which reflects the rich mix of long 

standing and new residents in both 

Sandwell and Western Birmingham. 

You will need to apply via the 

government website (www.gov.uk/ 

settled-status-eu-citizens- families) 

and then claim back your settlement 

application costs. 

You will then need to follow this 

process: 

• Once you have gained settlement 

status/pre-settlement status will 

need to validate your claim. This 

will be done by you providing the 

relevant document to the 

recruitment team. 

• Claim your frees back via the Easy 

Expenses system – if you do not 

have an account you will need to 

set this up on Connect – it is quick 

and simple to do so. 

• Once validated, you will then be 

able to submit your claim which will 

need to be approved by your 

manager. 

If you need further guidance please do 

contact the HR team. 

Kind regards, 

Toby Lewis 

Chief Executive

Toby writes about… 

employment and learning 

TobyLewis_SWBH 

TOBY’S LAST WORD 

One of the proudest moments of my time 

as your chief executive has been involving 

myself, just a little, in the work we do to try 

and create employment opportunities locally. 

That endeavour is what this column is about. 

But starting at the beginning, what matters 

to improving health? 

What you do, what we do with partner GPs 

like Manir, Imran and James (who feature 

in Heartbeat this month) what is done by 

our colleagues in RAID, the Oak Suite and 

CAMHS is hugely important. But if we want 

to change the health outcomes and the 

wellbeing of families and communities, we 

know that healthcare is at best a third of the 

programme. The other two parts are housing 

and employment. Together they provide the 

security to live and the basis for fulfilment. 

That belief in housing, employment and care 

as a three part mission is what animates our 

local Healthy Lives Partnership. And what 

drives the priorities that we are trying to set 

alongside primary care network colleagues 

in the local system. The NHS Long Term Plan 

is an important and interesting document. 

We all know it needs a social care green 

paper and an NHS workforce plan to make 

it truly credible, but to change outcomes, 

we need to tackle housing poverty and 

income inequality. The plan is not as brave 

as it could be in that respect. 

So we have our now longstanding projects 

focused on homeless young people and 

care leavers, which work to create dedicated 

apprenticeships to support those most at 

risk of falling through a social safety net. 

I want to thank line managers who have 

worked to support these young people, as 

well as our Learning Works and learning and 

development teams. We continue to see 

those projects thrive, and we are investing 

more right now to expand them further. We 

have next step options around employment 

access projects for ex-service people, often at 

risk of homelessness and exclusion, projects 

for those who have had mental health 

issues, or still have mental health issues, and 

work too to ease a path to employment for 

local people with learning disabilities (led by 

colleagues in our theatre teams). Every step 

we take in these projects changes the cost 

to the health service of those we assist, and 

may too impact on the health and wellbeing 

of their loved ones and dependents. The 

cost of social exclusion and of poverty 

is one paid over the long term, and 

which we want to tackle with up-front 

investment. 

In terms of housing, our current focus is on 

the Infirmary Wharf development which 

will take shape at City Hospital when we 

move out, and provide over 800 homes for 

local people. Meanwhile, whilst the Hallam 

building at Sandwell is doing a job for us 

accommodating many colleagues, after 

2023 we want it to be replaced by a housing 

project and are working with partners to 

secure that deal, which could add another 

100 or more dwellings to the local area. 

Across the country you can see NHS land 

laid idle, for want of the vision to turn it into 

homes that are needed. Around Midland 

Met we are leading work to create the 

development vision which will see not 

only key worker housing, but a thriving 

community with economic activity 

established. This is our business, because 

health depends on it. We are not just a 

disease service. 

In 2018 we were one of only two Trusts 

in the Midlands to achieve the whole 2.3 

per cent apprenticeship target set by the 

Government. That is a massive tribute 

to work by first line managers across 

our organisation. It means over 160 

apprentices in our midst. 13 colleagues 

are our first to achieve the healthcare 

support worker apprenticeship standard, 

and three gained distinctions in their studies. 

Right now we have 25 colleagues on the 

new team leader apprenticeship programme 

at level 3. And later this year our first nurse 

apprentice roles will graduate, and we are 

working hard to be ready for the same 

programme in midwifery. 

What lies behind that drive is a desire to 

help shape careers not simply to recruit 

to jobs. Last spring we tried to launch our 

nurse escalator project. It relaunches this 

month. Later this winter, we will kick off 

work to formally create an escalator from 

band 2 to band 3 for HCAs. If you have not 

already joined up the dots we will have a 

programme from band 2 to 3, via the new 

band 4 role, and then one from band 5 

to 6. We want to help high potential 

people locally to move into registered 

roles, and to progress their studies 

and their ambition as far as they 

want to go. Just as our director of 

therapies started many years ago in an 

apprentice role, there is no reason that a 

future chief nurse could not start work 

here as a HCA. To do that of course we 

need to make some changes to how we 

budget and manage jobs. That is why our 

PDR changes were so important, and we 

redo all our appraisals between April and 

June 2019. That process spots the high 

potential colleagues in our midst and 

looks to speed up their careers and match 

their ambition: Assuming of course you 

have done your mandatory training (see 

the letter with your payslip in January). 

If you are reading this and want to 

know more about the opportunities, 

talk to your line manager, get in touch 

with Bethan Downing, or contact me 

direct. The only ring-fenced protected 

budget in our Trust is the training 

budget and it will expand yet 

again in 2019-20. Our commitment to 

employment and to creating rewarding 

careers based in learning is one of 

the things that is distinctive about our 

organisation, one of the opportunities 

we will share as new partners like our 

GP colleagues join the SWBH family, 

and something that is a basis for asking 

people to work with and for us. 

Learning though is not just about careers 

or employment. It is also about how we 

share knowledge inside the Trust. Right 

now we are consulting on the welearn 

programme, which will be a big part of 

our 2019 efforts to share glimpses of 

brilliance from across the organisation 

and to make sure that we learn lessons 

when things nearly or do go wrong. 

Make sure in your February face to face 

team meeting you put forward your 

response to the TeamTalk topic and have 

your voice heard. If in February there is no 

team meeting where you work, do let me 

know, or contact Ruth Wilkin, and we will 

help you to have one! 

27

Events Diary February 2019 

EVENT DATE TIME VENUE 

Public Trust Board 7 9.30am–12.30pm Anne Gibson Board Room, City Hospital 

QIHD 14 PM session Trust wide 

Clinical Leadership Executive 26 2pm – 5pm Anne Gibson Board Room, City Hospital 

SWB TeamTalk 27 

11am 

1pm 

1pm 

Committee Room, Rowley Regis Hospital 

Education Centre, Sandwell Hospital 

Hayward Lecture, City Hospital 

Introduction to mindfulness 5 10am – 1pm The Berridge Room, Sandwell Hospital 

Experiencing grief and loss 19 10am – 1pm The Berridge Room, Sandwell Hospital 

Mental health training for managers 13 10am – 1pm The Berridge Room, Sandwell Hospital 

Suicide awareness 27 10am – 1pm The Berridge Room, Sandwell Hospital 

*to book any of the health and wellbeing courses, please contact Jatinder Sekhon or Emma Williams on extension 3306 option 4. 

2019 QIHD Dates 

MONTH DATE TIME 

February 14 PM 

March 15 AM 

April 18 PM 

May 15 PM 

June 14 AM 

July 9 PM 

MONTH DATE TIME 

August 

No QIHD 

September 3 PM 

October 10 AM 

November 14 PM 

December 

No QIHD 

December 2018 staff lottery results 

1st £197.75 

Rachael Gallagher 

2nd £118.65 

Caroline Hansford 

3rd £79.10 

Laura Roberts 

Don’t forget that Your Trust Charity lottery costs just £1 a month and anyone 

who works for the Trust can join. Payment is deducted from your wages each 

month. To take part email amanda.winwood@nhs.net. 

Take a break: in this month's Heartbeat 

Name: ___________________________________________ 

Can you match the question with the right answer? E-mail your answers to swbh.comms@nhs.net 

and all correct answers will be put into a draw to win vouchers - good luck! 

In this month's Heartbeat 

1. How many month's until we go smokefree? A. Donna Mighty 

2. Where do Dsr Imran Zaman and Manir Aslam work? B. Broadway Healthcare Centre 

3. What animal will be helping our dementia patients? C. Six 

4. Who is the new chair of the BME network? D. Lydia Nestor 

5. When will the full dress rehersal of Unity start? E. 11 February 

6. Who is our new consultant midwife? F. Maternity 

7. Which department is leading the way with VTE assesments? G. Seal 

8. How many weeks has Jane Ashmore been smoke free? H. Nine 

Date: ___________________

Heartbeat January 2019

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