Heartbeat January 2019

Maternity lead the way on
VTE assessments
WOMEN AND CHILD HEALTH
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