Heartbeat January 2019

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Friends and family test – help us to improve the patient journey CORPORATE AND GENERAL 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. CORPORATE AND GENERAL 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
Page 1 and 2: January 2019 Sandwell and West Birm
Page 3 and 4: Collaboration with local GP partner
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Page 9 and 10: Get active at the FREE Sandwell Gym
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Page 25 and 26: Emma Archer Associate Head of Pharm
Page 27 and 28: Toby writes about… employment and

Heartbeat January 2019

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