Heartbeat July 2019

July 2019
Sandwell and West Birmingham
NHS Trust
The pulse of community health, Leasowes, Rowley Regis, City and Sandwell Hospitals Issue 118
Full support for Trust's
smoking ban page 3
Colleagues were out in full force on the first day of our smoking ban - spreading the smokefree message and sign
posting patients, visitors and fellow colleagues to the vast support available to those wanting to quit the habit. And
bottom left, E-cig Wizard shops are now open at our Sandwell and City sites.
Hospital at night –
New simulation
The road to Unity -
Coloured dots help
what's it
training centre
a six week guide
to welcome new
all about?
opens at City Hospital
starters
page 11
page 12
Centre spread
page 21

FROM THE CHAIR
Contact us
Communications Team
Ext 5303
swbh.comms@nhs.net
HELLO
Welcome to our July issue of
Heartbeat. We are now a smokefree
site. Read about how the ban has
attracted international attention on
page 3.
As we all get set for Unity, the centre
spread gives you a week by week guide
on what you need to do to ensure you
are ready for our electronic patient
record.
Also, see page 21 for a simple initiative
to help welcome new starters using
coloured dots.
Communications Department
Ground Floor, Trinity House
Sandwell Hospital
Published by
Communications Team
Sandwell and West Birmingham
Hospitals NHS Trust
Designed by
Medical Illustration,
Graphics Team
Sandwell and West Birmingham
Hospitals NHS Trust
We are determined to keep our sites
smokefree
This month has demonstrated great team
work at our Trust as we became smokefree
across our sites. I have been delighted to
see the concerted effort from so many
colleagues in ensuring that our ban is, to
date, a real success. This has involved our
ward teams, clinicians talking to patients
in pre-op, pharmacy, occupational health,
partner organisations, the security team
and service leaders who have all taken part
in smokefree patrols.
My particular thanks to our staff at Rowley
Regis who went above and beyond to
get their site ready. There is a renewed
effort to make sure that the site is never
forgotten, and new arrangements for
security at the hospital are under urgent
review.
As you all know, smoking kills which is why we
are so determined to keep our sites free from
the toxins produced by cigarette smoke.
Over 70 people have taken part in smoking
warden patrols (including myself!) and many
are keen to continue, building it into their
working week/day. What most people have fed
back is how enjoyable these walkabouts have
been in providing an opportunity to really see
what is going on across our sites, a chance to
bump into colleagues as well as talk to patients
and relatives. The more people who take part
in a patrol as well as all of us continuing to
challenge any sign of smoking, will see us
sustain our success. The anxiety that many had
about challenging smokers has largely been
reduced as all but a handful of people smoking
have been quick to apologise, stub it out or
move off site.
Part of our success has no doubt been the fact
that we are offering alternatives, with free
NRT and access to clinics during work time
for colleagues, provision of vaping shops that
are there to help people cut down and quit
smoking, and NRT supplied on our wards for
inpatients. Lots of you have told me that the
date of 5th July gave them something to work
towards to stop smoking and I am so pleased
to hear of the money saved and health benefits
that are already being realised. Many Trusts
have been in touch to see how we can help
them on their smokefree journey so I’m sure
your hard work will be replicated elsewhere
– hopefully by the next NHS birthday every
healthcare facility will be smokefree.
The day before our smokefree launch we held
our Trust Board meeting at the Nishkam Centre
on Soho Road. It was great to return to that
facility and inspiring yet again to see how the
Nishkam is integrating and supporting the
community around it including providing an
‘outstanding’ rated school, a pharmacy, health
centre and many other support services. They
are truly an example to us all of integrated
care in action. Board colleagues were also
delighted to hear from our children’s services
to better understand the vital role that our
health visiting, school nursing, complex care
and paediatric teams provide to support
children and their families – and how these
teams were determined to work seamlessly for
our younger patients with partners and each
other. Our ambitious public health plans rely
on wrap around care for the youngest in our
communities and it is heartening to hear about
the difference those teams are making, day in,
day out and their drive for achieving the best
health outcomes from their services.
Richard Samuda – Trust Chairman
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If you’d like to submit an idea
for an article, contact the
communications team
Ext 5303
swbh.comms@nhs.net
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can now read Heartbeat articles
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Celebrating Eid alongside our colleagues in the Muslim Liaison Group

Smokers supported to quit as
ban comes into force
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
Shanice Abbott from Everyone Health delivers Stop Smoking services at our sites and in the
community
Our site-wide smoking ban began on
5 July – the 71st birthday of the NHS
- which saw “smokefree champions”
wearing t-shirts emblazoned with the
words: “Smoking Kills, Kill Smoking”
patrolling the sites, asking people to
stub out their cigarettes.
Anyone ignoring the ban and lighting
up on site receives a £50 fine. Smoking
enforcement officers have been on site from
5 July. Cameras to support the policy are
also in place.
Many have commended the organisation
for its bold move to bring in vaping shops at
Sandwell and City Hospital.
Ecigwizard shops are now open and offer
a 30 per cent discount to colleagues. It is
being offered as an alternative to smoking.
David Carruthers, Medical Director,
explained: “We know that vaping is a route
to cutting down or quitting smoking. There
is evidence that it might be a route into
smoking among young people, a group
whom we would actively discourage from
taking up vaping.
“Vaping poses only a small fraction of the
risks of smoking and switching completely
from smoking to vaping conveys substantial
health benefits, with the aim of stopping
both smoking and vaping in the longterm.”
Joe Lucas, Head of Retail for Ecigwizard
said: “We’re incredibly happy to announce
the opening of our two shops at Sandwell
and City Hospital, supporting the Trust’s
smokefree status. We are keen to offer
vaping as an alternative to smoking, as a
means to help people cut down or quit.
“The Trust chose to partner with Ecigwizard
because of our attention to detail on
quality and safety, from testing eliquids in a
purpose built laboratory and state of the art
cleanroom.”
Meanwhile the benefits of a smokefree
Trust are already evident.
In the paediatrics outpatient area at
Sandwell Hospital, they are now able to
open the windows. Previously smokers
would stand near to the windows and
puff away.
Fikirini Ramadhani, Paediatric Trainee
Advanced Nurse Practitioner, said: “It’s
so much better now that we are able
to open the windows. Previously they
had to be kept closed to stop the smell
of smoke coming into the waiting area.
There are also two consultation rooms,
and doctors had to keep the windows
closed for the very same reason. Now
our young patients are able to breathe in
fresh air.”
Chelsea Cook was visiting the area with
her brother who is a patient. She said:
“I think it is a lot better if the windows
are open especially during the hotter
weather.
“The fact that they were not able to do
this because of people smoking outside
is really shocking.
“It’s not fair that children visiting a
hospital have to suffer because of other
people’s bad habits. I think banning
smoking on site is a really great thing to
do.”
Our smokefree campaign has received
worldwide coverage – after the Trust
was featured in American and Spanish
media.
The move was reported in the New York
Times and the Florida Post as well as
national media in the UK and created
huge debate across social media.
As a route to quit smoking or cut down,
our vaping shops provide one option. Stop
smoking services and other NRT is also
available
3

Distinctive quality is our 2020
vision too
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
Each Heartbeat we will be
highlighting some of our 2020
quality plan measures. These are
areas of care outcome and patient
experience where we have set an
ambition to be among the very best
in the NHS. The quality plan includes,
of course, our No1 priority, which is
sepsis.
Unplanned readmissions to
hospital
Over many years, the organisation has
tried to tackle the issue of unplanned
re-admissions within 30 days of
discharge. The reason we want to
make a difference to this is that such
unplanned re-admissions often offer a
poor care experience. Sometimes, care
pathways or treatments are restarted, or
knowledge is lost between admissions.
But other times someone spends many
hours in an environment like A&E,
waiting to return to the specialist ward
that their care requires, where perhaps
the staff know the patient already.
Unplanned re-admissions can also be a
signal that something has gone wrong
in our care planning – either because
something has not been organised
outside hospital, or because something
was organised but has fallen through. So
unplanned re-admissions are not always
good for patients and they can indicate
that our plans to become outstanding at
care co-ordination have gone awry.
Over 8,500 times last year someone was
re-admitted to one of our hospitals. Our
aim is to reduce that figure to 7,500 or
less. That improvement would make us
one of the better Trusts and care systems
in the NHS, whereas now our results are
average.
Lots of different projects are taking place
to help. The issues will be different in
general surgery than in elderly care. One
of our biggest changes is to use our
adult community teams in Sandwell to
contact all discharged patients within
two days of going home. That call – our
Bridge project – looks at how someone’s
care was in hospital, whether they have
any unmet needs now they have been
discharged, and what help our teams,
or voluntary sector partners, could offer.
Over 500 patients have been through
the project since it started in June, and
The Trust runs the breast screening service locally
over 100 potential re-admissions have been
avoided. At the same time our Canadian
LACE tool that looks at risks of re-admission
is being re-animated within our teams.
Although the re-admissions work is
everyone’s business our efforts are being
coordinated by Melanie Roberts and
the leadership team in the primary care,
community and therapies group.
Screening services
The Trust runs the breast and bowel
screening service locally, as well as other
vital teams like new born hearing screening.
As part of our work to tackle cancer
mortality, we are looking to improve early
detection, diagnosis and treatment of
cancer. Part of that aim is working closely
with GPs on good referral practice. The
Trust’s breast cancer protocols for primary
care have now been adopted across the
Black Country. But we are working to tackle
take up rates from screening services too.
The project plan is being finalised over the
next couple of months, but it includes in
particular:
• Expanding our breast screening pilot
project to work alongside GPs to text
reminders and other prompts to
patients to improve their attendance at
screening services
• Working with faith and community
groups to target literature,
encouragement, peer advocacy and
service delivery in a more sensitive way
to meet specific community needs
• Providing more video clips and other
material in multiple languages to tackle
issues of literacy and of understanding
to improve take up rates and explain
why people should attend each round
of screening.
We are aiming to lead the Midlands with
a breast screening rate above 70 per cent,
and once we have stabilised staffing within
our bowel screening service to improve
take up rates there too. As we roll out our
Making Every Contact Count programme
within Unity we will also look to use each
health interaction to promote take up
of screening services, a model which has
worked well in women’s health.
Our monthly Cancer Board is
responsible for keeping track of
progress so contact Liam Kennedy, our
Deputy Chief Operating Officer if you
want to know more.
4

Award win for supporting young
people into work
It’s the annual awards ceremony
that celebrates the best apprentices
and their employers working across
the Greater Birmingham area,
acknowledging those up-and-coming
talents working in fields as diverse
as manufacturing, creative industries,
finance, digital industries and the public
sector.
At this year’s Ladder for Birmingham
Apprenticeship Awards, we scooped
one of the main prizes - Birmingham
Apprenticeship Training Provider of the Year.
“It was a fantastic honour to hear our
organisation announced as the winner
of such a prestigious award,” said Libby
Marshall, Apprenticeship Co-ordinator.
“Feedback from the judges was that
the award was in recognition of how
far we had come since setting up as a
provider in 2017. It was absolutely great
news especially after receiving a positive
report following an OSFTED inspection in
December last year.”
We currently have 140 apprentices
working across a range of departments.
Our 'Live and Work' project, in partnership
with St Basil's homeless charity, provides
accommodation and jobs through the
apprenticeship route and has so far
supported around 25 homeless young
The learning and development team were
delighted to receive the Birmingham
Apprenticeship Training provider of the year
award
adults to change their lives through increased
confidence, skills and employment with the
Trust.
Libby added: “We have been able to support
the Level 4 teaching award for our team
which has enabled us to ensure improved
practice and a better apprentice experience.
Our aim is to have a culture of inclusivity
and we are pleased to have been asked
to participate in the 'Five Cities Diversity
Programme' – a new government project
aimed at increasing apprenticeships within
underrepresented groups.”
The awards night saw us as runner up in two
other categories: Large Employer of the Year
and Outstanding Apprentice of The Year –
Appreciating every member of
the team
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
Public & Charitable Sector for Amanda
Healy.
“We were delighted for Amanda to be
recognised in this way,” said Libby. “In
2016, Amanda was a domestic assistant
with a dream of becoming a midwife.
Her personal determination saw her
overcome a number of barriers and gain
support to work additional hours as a
health care assistant apprentice.
“She did this while still doing her ward
services role and it was the first time
a domestic had done this. As a result
of Amanda scoring the highest grade
available in her 2018 PDR, she has
been selected to join the nursing career
escalator programme to look at future
training and development opportunities
and plans to study for a midwifery
degree apprenticeship at university.
“Amanda’s story shows that
apprenticeships are for everyone. I would
encourage colleagues to get in touch to
discuss the options available.”
To find out more contact Libby
Marshall on ext 3196 or email:
swbh.apprenticeship@nhs.net
After having a particularly busy shift
where she had not even had time to
take a break, Sister Sophia Panton was
touched by a patient who commented
that all of the staff worked so hard but
didn’t receive the appreciation that
they deserved. Sparked by the patient’s
kind words and recognising that we
should start to appreciate each other,
Sophia decided to take on the task of
organising what has now become the
AMU Appreciation Ball.
Sophia invites colleagues from the AMU
and other multi-disciplinary teams to
an evening where colleagues can come
together and celebrate. The night is an
awards ceremony, voted for by staff in
various categories with awards such as
AMU nurse of the year, AMU consultant
of the year, with AMU registrar of the year,
acute nurse practitioner of the year, unsung
hero, patient’s choice, and rising star.
Sophia Panton (second from right) and
colleagues enjoy the ball
The big award of the evening is the AMU
Appreciation Award which is essentially
the people’s choice award. Everyone in the
department votes for one person that they
think has gone above and beyond in their
role, is approachable and possesses qualities
that make them easy to work with. Ward
Nurse, Claire Obiakor took home the big
prize this year.
Sophia is extremely dedicated to making
sure the evening is an enjoyable one,
organising everything from venue and
ticket sales to seating plans and posters.
She has even designed an electronic
voting system to allow staff to vote for
their colleagues.
Recognising people’s hard work and
making them feel appreciated is crucial
and Sophia understands the importance
of this. ‘We spend most of our days with
our colleagues, it’s important to show
love and appreciation to each other,”
she said.
145 colleagues attended this year and
Sophia is excited about making the event
even bigger and better next year. “I am
thinking about how I can make it a little
bit different next year, maybe I can get in
a local artist to make an appearance.”
5

Stepping Up to develop senior leaders
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
This month we played host to
the graduation of over 100 BME
colleagues from across the region
from the NHS Leadership Academy
Stepping Up programme.
The programme which is aimed at bands
5, 6 and 7 colleagues who self-define
as being from black, asian or minorityethnic
backgrounds aims to develop
senior leaders in the NHS who will lead
effectively, creating and embedding
organisational inclusive cultures whilst
also looking to create a deeper level
of understanding to help change take
place. The programme was funded
by the Local Workforce Action Board
(LWAB) as part of building leadership
capability in the Black Country.
Donna Mighty, Assistant Primary Care
Liaison Manager was part of the first
The 2019 graduating cohort of the NHS Leadership Academy Stepping Up programme
cohort of colleagues to take part in the
Stepping Up programme and subsequently
went on to help organise the graduation.
She said: “The Stepping Up programme
was empowering and enlightening and I’m
immensely proud to have been part of it.”
Director of People and Organisation
Development, Raffaela Goodby said: “As
an organisation we are proud to be part
of this programme and we welcome any
opportunity that helps to build greater
levels of inclusion within our workplace. My
congratulations to everyone who graduated
and to those joining the two cohorts we
have planned for later this year.”
If you would like to join the next cohort
of the Stepping Up programme, contact
Estelle Hickman for more information
on estelle.hickman@nhs.net.
Signing skills to help communication
with patients
A group of 12 colleagues from across
the Trust, both clinical and nonclinical,
have recently completed
their level one course in British
Sign Language. They finished their
third and final exam in June and are
expecting to receive their results
shortly.
The group, who work in a range of areas
including A&E, women and children,
and complaints, met every Wednesday
from January onwards as they gradually
developed their understanding and
signing skills. Their instructor conducted
the class completely in sign.
The course is organised through the
Trust’s equality and diversity team and
delivered by an external provider called
Signature. It’s been an enjoyable process,
with the group helping each other along
and becoming good friends.
Charlie Duhig, a midwife at the Serenity
Birthing Suite, was excited to take part:
“I wanted to do the course as I felt it
would benefit my practice to be able to
communicate better with those who are
deaf or hard of hearing. I felt it would
The British Sign Language course motivated
colleagues to make a difference
make them feel more relaxed and hopefully
have a better birth experience,” she said.
“It can be very alienating to be in a hospital
setting for anyone. But when you add this to
an already heightened emotional time such as
labour, and you are struggling to make sense
of what is going on around you, I felt this skill
would be particularly beneficial.”
Natalie Trepsenishti, a charitable funds and
cash office administrator at City Hospital,
was also motivated to make a difference for
patients. She enjoyed the experience too.
“Deaf people are cut off from the usual
forms of communication such as hearing
your name being called at the doctor’s
or exchanging a few kind words with a
stranger. This means that deaf people
can feel isolated and find it hard to get
information or even help in an emergency,”
said Natalie.
“I wanted to be able to help by learning the
basics of sign language, even just to say a
friendly ‘How are you today?’ or ‘Can I help
you?’ That feeling of making someone feel
included is amazing.
“BSL is a beautiful visual language. We
had so much fun every week learning and
practising the signs. Our tutor, Karl, was
superb and I am grateful for his support and
encouragement to do well.”
Having learned a lot over the last six
months, it’s something they would
recommend to others. Most are keen to
continue onto the level two course, which
will be self-funded. A second cohort has
also recently started up.
For further information about the BLS
course contact Estelle Hickman on
estelle.hickman@nhs.net
6

Parents’ meningitis experience prompts
better sharing of information
Each month a patient or relative is
invited to share their story of our care
at our public Trust board meetings.
In July, the Board meeting was held
at The Nishkam Centre on Soho
Road, where Board members were
introduced to Simon Carswell, a local
dad, whose six week old daughter
Aubree became seriously ill and was
treated at Sandwell Hospital.
Simon explained how his daughter
Aubree had become very unwell
overnight and, to get help, he and his
partner Kirstie called NHS 111 who
were able to arrange an emergency
appointment at Sandwell Hospital.
Aubree was assessed and moved swiftly
to the paediatric ward at Sandwell for
further investigations. On arrival they
were taken to a bay and several doctors
and nurses attended within seconds.
“At that point it turned into carnage
from my perspective,” said Simon. “Fear
attacked me and Kirstie. We didn’t know
what was going on. I was brought over
to try and calm Aubree down. Kirstie
had a doctor with her who was trying to
update her and I was trying to comfort
Aubree. I heard words like ‘sepsis’ and
we were being asked lots of questions.
We were really scared.
“Things settled after five to ten minutes
– it felt like a lifetime. She was given
antibiotics and put on a monitor. We
were taken to Lyndon 1 to our own
cubicle and things settled a bit. I have
L-R Paula Gardner, Chief Nurse, with Aubree’s
dad Simon Carswell and Cheryl Newton, Group
Director of Nursing – Women’s & Child Health
never experienced anything like that before.
I don’t think I ever worried about anything
until that point.
“The feedback I can provide is not relating
to the care she received - the care was
spot on - but instead it was about how
the information was shared with us. She
had lots of tests and we would be told for
instance that there would be a result in
24 hours. Once 24 hours had passed we
weren’t always informed of the result and
we were left in limbo. Every second that
passed 24 hours we became more and
more concerned.
“There was confusion about where some of
the tests went and when the results would
be back. We always had to ask people
what the test results were and what was
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
going on. We stayed every night and
were up almost all of the time waiting
for some form of indication as to what
was going on. Aubree improved and
was discharged and we subsequently
found out that she had viral meningitis.
I can’t fault the time and attention the
staff gave us but it was frightening not
knowing what was going on.”
Paula Gardner, Chief Nurse, thanked
Simon for sharing his story, “I agree
that healthcare professionals need
to be pro-active and communicate
continually to parents and carers. We
need to take particular care with people
whose first language isn’t English. The
quality listening time that we have in
place in some wards is a really helpful
opportunity for relatives to meet with
the clinicians and find out about the care
plan for their loved one.”
Toby Lewis, Chief Executive, asked Simon
whether it would have been helpful to
have fixed points during the day where
you could find out information. Simon
felt that it would have been useful,
saying: “The information would come
90% of the time when the doctors
did their rounds so we gave up asking
questions we just waited for those
moments. It would have been good to
have other opportunities.”
Did you know that you can download
treatment-specific patient information
leaflets from the EIDO Healthcare
website for FREE?
EIDO has hundreds of patient leaflets for different procedures
that are being carried out across the Trust.
They are available in an easy-to-read format and
in different languages.
Visit Connect Clinical Systems EIDO PT Leaflets.
For more information, please contact the Communications Team
on ext. 5303 or email: swbh.comms@nhs.net
7

Course skills up security to support
people with mental health issues
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
Lance Bryan, Security Officer at City
Hospital is well aware of the high
number of incidences that he and
his colleagues are called to which
involve a person with a mental
health issue.
He thought that the team would benefit
from some in depth training in order to
help them deal with what can be a very
challenging aspect of the role.
Taking the opportunity to try to better
equip himself and his colleagues, he
managed to secure funding for the
team to undertake an intensive Level 3
Principles in Mental Health course.
“The courses that we had been on
previously only scratched the surface,
such as one day seminars. I wanted
something that meant we could dig a
little deeper,” Lance said.
The course covered a range of topics
including coping mechanisms, root
L - R: Lance Bryan, Security Officer with
Santokh Sagoo, Security Manager
causes and how to deal with people who may
be suffering with mental illness.
Lance added: “The nature of our job means
that we can be called into A&E where a
patient may be in the middle of a mental
health crisis. And the course has helped a lot
in dealing with that.”
The team is already very skilled in approaching
challenging situations but the course
has allowed them to build on existing
experience.
Santokh Sagoo, Security Manager, also
attended the course, he said: “When you
get a deeper knowledge of a subject, when
you understand what a person is going
through and the reasons behind it, you gain
empathy for people. That leads to treating
people with more humanity.”
Getting physical with a service user is a
last resort and it is traumatic for everyone
involved, including for members of the
security team. Training is a way of equipping
the team to de-escalate a situation before it
gets to that point.
“Any course that you do is holistic, it’s not
just that you learn but it gives other skills.
We gained academic skills, because it was
at the level of an A- Level, this upskills us in
all aspects of our work. I think it’s important
to highlight the benefits of ongoing training
for staff groups at our level as it increases
aspirations and drives engagement and
ownership because staff feel more valued as
people,” Santokh commented.
Surveillance Camera Day dispels
myths of CCTV
Colleagues had the opportunity to
see behind closed doors, as well
as get a taste of life in the control
room when they were given the
opportunity to join the security team
for the day to celebrate Surveillance
Camera Day.
Surveillance Camera Day is a national
awareness event which aims to
encourage a conversation about the
use of surveillance cameras in modern
society. The awareness day forms part
of the civil engagement strand of the
National Surveillance Camera Strategy
and is a world first.
Colleagues from across the Trust
took the open invite and flocked in
throughout the day hoping to learn
more about the security team and to
see what happens in the control room
amongst the array of CCTV screens.
Mark Stankovich, Directorate General
Manager – Portering and Security
said: “The majority of people have an
Our security team at the City Hospital control
room
apprehensive view towards CCTV so the aim
of Surveillance Camera Day was to show
everyone what really goes on as well as dispel
some of the myths that surround CCTV and
its uses.”
CCTV on our City site covers over 135
areas and helps us to keep everyone on our
premises safe. The system allows us to react
almost instantly should anything out of the
ordinary occur which means we’re better
able to look after patients, visitors and
colleagues.
Mark Lee, Security Officer played a vital
role in the initiative and hopes that inviting
colleagues into the security control room
will help reduce the stigma attached to
surveillance technology.
He said: “With the average person captured
on CCTV at least 70 times a day, it’s great
to be able to show colleagues what we
in security use our CCTV system for and
crucially the benefits of it to them as well as
others.
“It was great to hear conversation about
CCTV and more specifically the increased
use of facial recognition advancements
amongst colleagues at our awareness event
but most importantly, it’s nice to know that
everybody who came along went away
feeling more positive about the security
team and surveillance across our hospital
sites.”
8

Never give up! Dinah gets ready to
run an ultra-marathon
YOUR TRUST CHARITY
@SWBHCharity To donate
to the Your Trust Charity text
“SWBH16 £5” to 70070
Dinah McLannahan, Acting Director
of Finance, has enjoyed sport for
most of her life, having caught the
physical activity bug whilst still at
school and continuing to stay active
ever since. Now she is taking on her
biggest sporting challenge to date,
after agreeing to undertake an ultramarathon.
Dinah is no stranger to keeping fit, and has
been a longstanding Board member of the
Sandwell Leisure Trust typically going to the
gym five times a week, where she attends a
variety of high intensity exercise classes with
Dinah McLannahan is raising money for Your
Trust Charity
a mix of Les Mills, body combat, body pump,
with sprint being her favourite.
So when Your Trust Charity challenged people
to take part in an ultra-marathon to raise
money for the charity, Dinah thought it was the
perfect opportunity to a push herself further
than ever before as well as help a good cause.
“It’s a massive challenge. People do 10km
and 5km but I wanted to do something really
special,” she said.
The Ultra London, an urban ultra-marathon
event, is a multi-distance event which
will be held on an innovative course that
aims to showcase some of London’s finest
viewpoints.
“Realistically, I’ll be going for 7 or 8 hours
so I just want to finish it. I think it’s going
to be ace being able to see all of the
landmarks on the route, and London has a
great buzz,” she said.
Dinah has already completed a few half
marathons, but is well aware of the
magnitude of taking on an ultra-marathon
(55km): “I’m trying to get my head around
the distance, and I know that I’ve got work
to do but I think it will be an amazing
experience.”
The determination that is required to train
for and complete this event is something
that Dinah feels can also be carried over
into everyday life.
“In this job resilience is important, as it is in
many roles in the NHS. It’s never easy and
you have to keep pushing through. You
have to keep going and there is a definite
parallel there. Never give up.”
Youngsters’ choral tunes entertain
on Newton 4
Stroke patients were left singing the
praises of youngsters when they were
entertained by a local school choir.
The pupils from Ryders Green Primary School,
in West Bromwich, visited patients on Newton
4 ward at Sandwell Hospital.
The choir sang an array of songs for patients
and their visitors including school classics such
as Any Dream Will Do and We Like Joyful
Music.
They were invited to the hospital by Your
Trust Charity, as one of the many projects
it organises to enhance the experience of
colleagues, patients and their families.
Fundraising Manager, Amanda Winwood,
organised the visit. She said: “It was fantastic
to see our patients on Newton 4 enjoying
the Ryders Green Choir with many of them
tapping their feet and even singing along.
Children from Ryders Green School perform
for the patients on Newton 4
“The rehabilitation ward can sometimes have
many patients who aren’t in the best of spirits
so to be able to lift their moods, even if it’s just
for an afternoon, is truly a special thing.”
Natalie Heath, Senior Sister for Newton 4,
added: “I was delighted when we were asked
if we would like a visit from the choir. Newton
4 is a stroke and neurological rehabilitation
unit, so our patients can be in hospital for
quite a few weeks, due to their disabilities
both physically and cognitively that may
have developed through their condition.
“While the children were performing, I
witnessed a patient who was not very
responsive previously, express emotions. She
began talking when she heard the children
singing, which was very touching to
observe. I know all of Newton 4's patients
and staff were very grateful to have been a
part of this experience. The children were
extremely pleasant, polite and seemed very
happy with their performance.”
If you would like more information
or would like to fundraise for ‘Your
Trust Charity’, please contact amanda.
winwood@nhs.net or call 0121 507
4847.
9

Pioneer teams kick start
engagement drive
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
Nine teams have embarked on a
six month journey to improvement
engagement within their teams.
The teams are part of the weconnect
Pioneer programme which launched in
June this year.
Speaking to Heartbeat, Ruth Wilkin,
Director of Communications said: “The
weconnect Pioneer programme is a
tried and tested approach already used
in several NHS organisations. Our aim
is to improve how happy, motivated
and involved people are within their
workplace and this programme helps us
to do just that.
“The pioneer teams are receiving help
and support from their HR business
partner, a specially trained Connector
and an executive director sponsor.
“It is a real opportunity for the teams to
listen, learn and make improvements to
their working lives.”
To kick off the programme all the teams
were asked to take part in a survey to
assess how they feel about working in
their team or service. Team leads are
now in the process of feeding back
the findings and have started to work
together with colleagues to put in place
Colleagues are taking part in a six month
programme to improve engagement
action plans. A second survey will follow at
the end of the programme to see whether
the activities they have set up have made a
difference to how people feel about their job
and team.
Theatres are one of the teams taking part
in the programme. Heartbeat caught up
with Matron, Louisa Adams, she said: “This
programme has come at an ideal time for us
as we work to move away from having three
distinct teams, to having the ethos of one
team that works cross site.
“Colleagues are excited about being part of
the programme and really embraced it at the
recent QIHD when we presented the findings
of the first survey. The programme gives us
a platform to improve engagement and the
activities we will set up should give colleagues
control and influence over how they work and
continue to provide a high quality service to
our patients.
“There is plenty of opportunity to raise
concerns and share ideas to provide
high quality care. Our aim is to be a gold
standard, national centre of excellence. The
weconnect Pioneer programme will help
and support us on that journey.”
Also taking part is the estates team.
Speaking of behalf the team, Head of
Estates, Steve Lawley told Heartbeat: “The
estates and new hospital directorate is
looking forward to being involved in the
pioneer team cohort to develop closer
internal team relationships and improve the
integration of estates, car parking, catering,
waste and the new hospital project team.
“An additional driver is to standardise and
improve our processes to enhance the
quality of our service for our customers and
to create time in the working day/week for
our staff to reflect, train, share and increase
knowledge.”
The teams in the first cohort of the
pioneer programme are:
Theatres, breast team, City ED,
estates, health visiting, pharmacy
operational management team, sexual
health services, medicine therapy and
rapid response therapy services and
informatics service support team.
Fun in the sun to mark
40 years of Day Nursery
Forty years ago Sandwell Day Nursery
opened its doors to its first pupils and
this month, it had the opportunity
to invite back families from past and
present to celebrate its momentous
anniversary.
On a sun soaked Saturday afternoon,
children from past and present dressed
as their favourite Disney character and
celebrated with nursery staff at a day
hosted at the nursery.
The fun filled day saw young and old
reminiscing about their time at the day
nursery as they enjoyed the party. The event
which included a tombola, raffle, Disney
makeover and café was a delight for both
young and old.
The nursery which caters for children from
the age of 3 months up to 5 years first
opened in 1979 and over the years has
nurtured the development of over 3,000
children.
Heartbeat caught up with Nursery Manager,
Emma Collier to find out more, she said:
“It’s been an amazing opportunity to see
some of the children we’ve supported over
the years and to learn more about their
memories of their time at the nursery.
We’ve been here on the same site for 40
years now and our family of nursery pupils
has grown significantly.”
Sharing their experience of the nursery,
Anthea and Teagan Forsythe summed up
their experience in four short words. “The
best nursery ever!”
Former pupils Libby (16) and Charlotte
Ogleby (18) returned to their former
nursery to celebrate its 40th anniversary
6 yr old Sienna Whyte dressed as a Disney
princess to mark the momentous occasion.
10

Our hospital at night is all about
patient care
As darkness falls and the sound of
sirens fade, there are still some of our
colleagues whose work continues. That
is especially so for the out-of-hours
team working across Sandwell and City
Hospitals.
Running the “hospital at night” service is
Matron Rebecca Bloore, who served as a
clinical nurse practitioner (CNP) for nine
years with the team, before landing her
current role as matron for the service.
There are 16 CNPs and they can deal with
anything from deteriorating patients to
major incidents, a recent example of this is
when the IT system failed. Becky, as she is
known, says: “It’s a varied job and you are
faced with many different scenarios on a
day-to-day basis. We’ve been through a lot
of changes and we are now relaunching the
service.”
The service is the first line of contact for the
wards during out-of-hours. Becky explains:
“Unwell patients are referred to us via the
hospital at night system from clinical teams
working during the day. This is discussed at
a 9pm meeting which is held every night.
During weekends and Bank Holidays, this
meeting takes place at 9am in the ED
seminar room and is chaired by the CNP.
“The emergency medicine response team
(EMRT) also attend these meetings where
they flag up their roles for that evening.
They will discuss any patients that may
have required the EMRT during the day.
We go on to discuss the patients referred
to the hospital at night service and their
care pathway for that night. We cover all
specialities, although patients from the
medical wards are predominantly cared for
by the CNP out-of-hours team.”
Becky explains further: “At Sandwell, the
medical wards would be OPAU, the fourth
and fifth floor wards, whilst at City, this
would be D5, 7, 11, 15 16, and 26. On
average we could be looking after around
one to seven patients per hospital site. Plus
any other patient referred to us during our
shifts.
“These are patients who maybe
haemodynamically unstable or have other
clinical concerns. We are there to make sure
they are stable or their condition doesn’t
deteriorate. Our role is to ensure they are
seen by the right person, at the right time
and given the right treatment.”
The role of the CNP doesn’t stop there.
“While we are on the wards we look to
encourage and support the teams. This
is achieved through discussing patient
conditions and working through treatment
plans or assisting nurses with competency
sign off for skills such as cannulation,”
adds Becky. “It’s about the learning and
development offered out-of-hours.”
Shift patterns vary from a 5.30pm to 6am (a
twilight shift) or the traditional night shift,
which, for the team, starts at 6.45pm and
runs until 7.15pm. During weekends they
will also work 6.45am to 7.15pm.
There are two members of the team per
site – one takes the clinical role, whilst the
other takes on the role of site manager. At
Sandwell they are based in the Bryan Knight
Suite, whilst at City, they are at D18.
The site management role sees Becky
or one of her team members take over
from colleagues within the capacity team
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
at 7.15pm, where during a 10 to 15
minute meeting, a handover occurs.
“It is about looking after the entire site,”
says Becky. “We deal with capacity and
flow, troubleshoot and offer solutions to
any issues that arise. We are also there
to support our colleagues in ED and
beyond.
“At the end of the day, it is about
patient safety and making sure they
receive the right treatment.
“We are there to also deal with a
multitude of tasks such as complaints
and staffing issues too. The CNP team
are responsible for the safety of the site
and at times it can mean having to move
colleagues between wards or cross-site if
there is a shortage.”
With the relaunch also comes a new
look. The team will soon be wearing
new and more distinctive uniforms.
“Previously we used to wear scrubs
which I think was received well,” says
Becky. “Now we are in tunics and so
sometimes colleagues will not realise
that we are in a clinical role. We are in
a position to move forward and we are
very positive that the new uniforms will
make us stand out.
“It’s an exciting time for the clinical
nurse practitioner out-of-hours team.
We strive for high quality care for our
service users and we want to make sure
that our colleagues are aware of the
service we provide.”
The hospital at night team are ready to treat patients at both City and Sandwell Hospitals
11

welearn poster competition:
Improvements through innovation
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
Last year we launched the annual
poster competition, laying the
foundations of welearn a Trust-wide
development programme designed to
encourage colleagues to share their
quality improvements and ideas, and
we were overwhelmed with over 65
entries.
This year, the competition has returned
and colleagues are being encouraged to
submit their ideas in the form of posters
to be in with an opportunity to win up to
£5,000 for your department.
Last year, simple ideas from introducing
pet therapy on wards to support patients
to relax and recuperate to reviewing
clinical guidance promoting fluid intake
and improving perioperative recovery,
were amongst some of the highest
scoring ideas.
Leading on the welearn programme is
Kam Dhami, Director of Governance,
she said: “We know our colleagues are
always working hard to innovate their
services and improve the experience
Creating a safe, risk free
environment for learning
The brand new Simulation Training
Centre (STC) opened earlier this year at
City Hospital main spine and the team
are eager to highlight what is available at
this unique and exciting facility.
The old simulation centre was a dated
room which became an unworkable space,
particularly uncomfortable to work in during
the summer months with rising temperatures
and various maintenance issues. After the
hospital estates team looked at ways of
improving the area, it was decided that the
best and most cost effective option was to
refurbish a completely new space.
Funding was secured with agreement from
the Trust Board and a fantastic new centre
was created. What makes the STC unique
is that it is very interchangeable as a clinical
space, it can be made to look like many
different ward based areas. The space can be
made into a ward, a theatre, a resuscitation
area, and even a GP surgery.
The STC also includes a space purely for
communication skills, something which very
few simulation centres around the country are
Clinical Lead Podiatrist, Thomas Calderbank
presents ‘Rate my Day’
of patients, what we are hoping to do
with welearn is to spread those quality
improvements that we know exist in pockets
of our organisation across the Trust. The
poster competition provides an opportunity
for colleagues to take their ideas and present
them to a distinguished panel, prove that
they work and ultimately win the backing
of peers, not only for the prize on offer but
also for the opportunity of spreading your
innovation and potentially improving the
experience of patients across the Trust.”
One of the projects which was well received
across the organisation was ‘Rate my
Day’, submitted by Clinical Lead Podiatrist,
Thomas Calderbank. Rate my day focussed
on developing a process to capture the
opinions of colleagues as to how they felt
able to offer. This provides the opportunity
to use actors or “plants” to simulate difficult
conversations, such as breaking bad news, in
a controlled and safe environment.
The scope for the use of simulations is wide
ranging, from training to re-enacting clinical
incidents, testing protocols and guidelines,
whatever is required for the learning of the
team.
Joe Weston-Price started at the Trust last year
in his role as simulation fellow, a year-long
employment as a doctor who is involved in
simulation education for all members of staff.
He said: “I am able to meet up with
colleagues who feel that simulation is
something that could benefit them. We can
then discuss their ideas and concerns to see
how we can work together to put that into
a simulation. The process is very collaborative
with the simulation (sim) team deciding
with staff what learning they are hoping to
gain and a plan being built around how the
training is going to be delivered.”
The team are keen to highlight that the
their working day had progressed and to
identify issues which could potentially lead
to poor patient experience. Explaining the
principles behind ‘Rate my day’, Thomas
said: “Whilst as managers we feel we are
reasonably good at identifying some of the
bigger issues that affect patient experience,
we found that minor issues were often going
unnoticed. Rate my day gives us the ability
to poll our staff on a daily basis and visualise
trending issues affecting staff morale, service
delivery and patient experience.”
Following on from the poster competition,
Thomas has gone on to present his idea
to peers at Teamtalk as well as supporting
colleagues to embed the process in to their
services across the Trust.
If you would like to submit your ideas to
this year’s welearn poster competition you
can find templates and further information
on Connect. Entries are encouraged and
welcomed from everyone and don’t be
put off if poster creation and design is
not your thing because help is available
- please contact Preeti Puligari, Library and
Knowledge Services Manager on extension
3112 or email preeti.puligari1@nhs.net.
The closing date for the competition is 11
October.
Max Newbould, Apprentice Simulation
Technician shows us the STC equipment
STC has potential benefits for all members
of staff. Colleagues in non-clinical roles are
encouraged to explore ways of using the
space for their training needs.
For example there is plenty of opportunity
for staff who work in admin to practice
their communication skills if needed. The
security team can test out difficult scenarios
such as dealing with patients with mental
health issues or angry relatives, in a safe
space. Portering teams may want to test
procedures for moving critically ill patients or
new protocols and systems in a comfortable
environment.
Everyone is welcome to use the space.
Those interested should email Max
Newbould at max.newbould@nhs.net
12

Portering and critical care teams
prepare for
Unity will be a brand new way of
working for teams throughout the Trust
so it’s vital that everyone is prepared
for when it goes live in September.
Although they’re all working to the
same schedule, different areas are
getting ready in different ways to
reflect their needs.
The portering team have an important
role to play in tying everything together,
ensuring patients and equipment are in
the right place at the right time. Their
manager, Zaheer Iqbal, is relatively new to
the organisation but has recognised the
importance of Unity and making major
strides with it over the next couple of
months.
“I’ve had to learn how the porters are
currently doing their duties and how the
work is distributed. I’ve also had to learn
how we as a team will be moving forward
with Unity. This has been challenging at
times but we can see real progress being
made,” said Zaheer.
“We have faced many challenges with
individuals lacking IT experience and not
having the necessary equipment to be able
to log on to ESR to check training, or log
on to the Trust network to complete their
individual training requirements. Therefore
we have set up a separate PC for the
porters to be able to access their personal
ESR in readiness for Unity.”
Requests for support from the portering
team are currently made through traditional
bleep systems, fax machines, two-way
radios and mobile phones. But once Unity
goes live, this will be done exclusively
through the new system. To familiarise
Matrons Amber Markham and Dean
Farrington show off their Unity corner
everyone with it, training and regular
practise has been a big priority.
There have been some important
developments recently, with training
sessions booked for the whole team,
including digital champions and super
users,” explained Zaheer.
“We have also arranged additional dress
rehearsals so the portering team can
run through some test scenarios. These
sessions will help us to gain valuable
experience, iron out any foreseeable issues
and become more familiar with the system.
As a result we now feel more comfortable
with the progress being made by the
team.”
The same is true of the critical care team,
who also have dress rehearsals scheduled
for the end of July at both City and
Sandwell. As another key area where Unity
needs to succeed, their preparations have
been particularly thorough. Matrons Amber
Markham and Dean Farrington have been
leading the way.
“As matrons we’ve created a Unity corner
on each unit,” said Dean, the Unity lead for
critical care. “I think, on the whole, since
we started the 28-Day Challenge, we’ve
noticed the momentum across the two
units really start to pick up.
“The motivation is there and now we’re
starting to get the workstations on wheels.
When we’ve got some quieter times we’re
getting nurses involved in looking at the
workstations and trying to replicate their
everyday practice in Unity.”
“You’ve got to keep Unity in people’s minds
so we make a real focal point of it every
morning,” said Amber. “We’ve always got
an update at handover around training,
super users, and the Unity – it’s all about U
checklists. This is organisational change and
it’s about making sure that we’re creating
the momentum and that we’re getting a
snowball effect.”
“Since the 28-Day Challenge and the
Favourite Fairs there’s been a realisation that
it is definitely coming this time. We’ve had
a lot of people come forward to be digital
champions and super users, who are going
around and helping people. We’re buddying
them up and giving peer support. We’ve
got a real buzz going around Unity now.”
If you think you have a good example
of Unity readiness to share with other
teams, or would like help setting up
a Unity corner in your area, including
access to relevant resources, please
email swbh.Digital-Champions@nhs.net.
The portering team will play a key role in the implementation of Unity
13

It’s full steam ahead for
preparations in August
August is going to be a busy and exciting
month as our preparations for going live
with Unity ramp up. While work continues
on readying the Trust’s IT infrastructure,
with the device roll-out and Wi-Fi upgrade
ongoing, there are four key areas for
colleagues to focus on:
• Practising and perfecting your
UniTeam competencies
• Completing CapMan training
• Adding Tap-and-Go function to your
ID badge or smartcard
• Attending an Access Fair to check
your login details
UniTeam competencies
Everyone should already have completed
the relevant ‘Unity – it’s all about U’
checklist, a role-based competency
assessment for all colleagues who will use
the new electronic patient record. It was
designed to ensure that colleagues identify
any gaps in their Unity knowledge and
undertake additional learning to become
100 per cent compliant by the end of July.
The UniTeam competencies look to build
on this.
Bethan Downing, Deputy Director of People
and OD, told Heartbeat: “The UniTeam
competencies are the next step on from
the individual competency assessment,
and involve working together to replicate
your everyday practice in Unity. They will
support clinical teams to progress from an
awareness of Unity to an understanding
of how it will work in reality. It will help
provide confidence to everyone in clinical
settings that their teams are ready for golive”.
“There are 10 core competencies within
UniTeam. Some teams may need all 10,
but most are likely to require a selection
that reflects the work they are required to
do in their areas. Your team lead, in most
cases the ward manager or department
manager, will be able to clarify which ones
are relevant to you. Teams will be asked to
practise at least five times. The number of
practices undertaken in each area will be
captured and entered onto Connect by the
team lead. “
The 10 competencies are:
1. Board round
2. Ward round
3. Handover
4. EMRT
5. Outpatients
6. Deceased patient
7. Safeguarding
8. Business continuity plans
9. Non-theatre area consent
10. Shift-to-shift handover.
Resources, which include instructional
videos, published on the Unity section of
Connect will help your teams to practise
the UniTeam competencies. Please use
them to refresh your knowledge and guide
you through the process. There’s plenty
of other support, including e-learning
modules, standard operating procedures
and quick reference guides, available on
Connect too.
During the last two weeks of August, your
area will be visited by a member of the
Unity support team to provide support
and observe that your team can effectively
carry out the competencies you have been
practising. By the end of August all teams
will have gained confidence in using Unity,
received productive feedback and will be
even more prepared for Unity to go live.
All clinicians who provide outpatient clinics
will work with the outpatient nurses to
ensure they know where to find their clinic
lists, how to order tests and review patients,
and how to cash up the clinic. This will
make go-live run much more smoothly.
If additional learning needs to take place
there are lots of resources to help you.
Don’t forget to talk to your super users and
digital champions and use the Play System
to practise in a safe environment whenever
you get the chance. Safety is our priority in
implementing Unity, so please make sure
that you and your teams are prepared by
practising, identifying gaps and putting
plans in place to support everyone for a
successful go-live.
14

CapMan training
There are still some classroom sessions
available, but to make it even easier to
complete your CapMan training, we
have introduced an e-learning module
too. CapMan is a critical part of Unity
and will be used for lots of key clinical
administration tasks to help patients flow
smoothly around the Trust, so please ensure
you complete your training as soon as
possible, if you haven’t already.
Full details of how to register and enrol
on any of the e-learning modules can be
found on the Unity section of Connect. If
you have any queries, contact the learning
and development team on swbh.landd@
nhs.net.
Tap and Go
Tap and Go is new software to support a
faster login into Unity and single sign-on
into other applications will be rolled out
across the Trust during August.
Devices to support the Tap and Go function
will be deployed during August and
while everyone will have access to the
system, those who will need to use Unity,
particularly in busy areas where multiple
people will be working from a single
device, need to self-enrol onto the tap-andgo
system using their smartcard (v6 and
above).
Devices with a Tap-and-Go function will
prompt you to do this. If you do not have a
smartcard you will be able to use your Trust
ID with the use of a RFID sticker which will
be provided.
During August enrolment fairs and clinics
will be set up to help with enrolment
as well as visits to clinical areas where
required.
Initially the system will provide a faster
login into Unity. Over time it will be further
developed to enable you to sign into other
IT systems. If you have any questions or
queries please email mark.taylor38@nhs.
net or you can contact Mark on x5971.
Access Fairs
Ahead of going live with Unity, it’s essential
that all colleagues who will need to use
the system have access to it. Therefore,
we will be running Access Fairs from 2-15
September.
Everyone who will use Unity as part of their
role will need to book in (during August)
and attend (During September) to ensure
that they can log in to the system. If you
can’t log in then the Unity team will get this
sorted for you. Access Fairs will be running
every day between 2-15 September, from
7am to 8pm at the Coffee Pot at Sandwell,
and D29 at City. You will need to book
onto the sessions and can do so through
Connect
For more information about Access
Fairs, or how you can prepare for going
live with Unity, please visit Connect or
email unity.cutover@nhs.net.
Sandwell and West
Birmingham Hospitals
NHS Trust
15

The road to
a six week guide
Week 5
activities to be completed by all
managers who will use unity
FROM 2
SEPTEMBER
All our sites will be fully live on Unity on Monday 23 September. The
new electronic patient record will be switched on at City Hospital
in the early hours of Saturday 21 September. This will be followed
by the switch on at Sandwell Hospital in the early hours of Sunday
22 September with the rest of our sites coming on board on
Monday 23 September. There is still much to do to get us ready for
this new way of working. The ‘road to Unity’ graphic will help give
you some guidance of what you need to do to ensure a smooth
and safe go-live of Unity.
REMEMBER: Connect has all the information you need to get
your team ready for Unity. You can book training, sign up
for events and find out more about practising your UniTeam
competencies. The daily communication bulletin also has
news and updates. For queries please email the Unity project
team swbh.eprprojectpmo@nhs.net
Week 3
FROM
19
AUGUST
• Check your go-live rota including Bank and
agency plans
• An independent colleague will visit to support
you with your team practise
• Do you have a process in place to look after
your devices? See examples on Connect.
ALL COLLEAGUES WHO WILL USE UNITY
Attend the go-live clinics. Get all the information
you need to know about go-live activities. The
team are waiting to meet you and to answer
your questions.
• Ensure you attend the Access Fairs.
Week 6
activities to be completed by all
managers who will use unity
• Make sure you discuss business continuity plans for
your area
FROM 9
SEPTEMBER
FULLY
LIVE
activities to be completed by all
managers who will use unity
• Arrange for your team to be observed
practising their UniTeam competencies
• Ensure your team complete their CapMan
elearning
• Check your department has a Ready for Unity
pack in place. See Connect for further info.
5
Trust Board will
meet to discuss
our readiness
with a view to
making a
go-live decision
• Make sure you discuss and enrol on Tap and Go
• Re-check your department has a Ready for Unity
pack in place. See Connect for info.
ALL COLLEAGUES WHO WILL USE UNITY
Attend Access Fairs. Make things easy for yourself by
mak ing sure your log in works when you first come on
shift after go-live
1
2
3
4
6
Week 1
FROM 5
AUGUST
activities to be completed by all
managers who will use unity
• Ensure your team members complete their Unity
individual competency checklist
• Ensure you are up to date with individual
competency validation
• Make preparations to undertake UniTeam simulation
• Ensure your team complete their CapMan elearning
Week 2
activities to be completed by all
managers who will use unity
• Keep practising your Uni-Team competencies
• Ensure your team complete their CapMan elearning
FROM
12
AUGUST
Week 4
activities to be completed by all
managers who will use unity
• An independent colleague will visit to support you with your
team practise.Practising your UniTeam competencies should
be complete by the end of this week.
• Do you have a process in place to look after your
devices? See examples on Connect.
ALL COLLEAGUES WHO WILL USE UNITY
Attend the go-live clinics. Get all the information you need
to know about go-live activities. The team are waiting to
meet you and to answer your questions.
FROM
26
AUGUST
What else is going on?
• OUR OPTIMISATION METRICS WILL BE LAUNCHED TO MEASURE INDIVIDUALS'
AND TEAMS' USE OF UNITY AFTER GO-LIVE
• eLearning and Play System is available throughout for self-learning and practise
• New devices will be delivered and set up in your department – by week
beginning 2 September
• WiFi improvements have already happened at Sandwell and Rowley. Works at
City will be complete by week beginning 2 September
• Tap and Go a new software to support a faster login into Unity and single
sign-on into other applications will be rolled out across the Trust during August.
Keep an eye out for enrolment fairs and clinics.
Throughout the six week period before go-live there is plenty of activity to help you get ready
Play System is available > Sign-up for Access Fairs > Complete CapMan training > Attend super user training > Attend digital champion training > Make your Unity corner work for you > Devices will continue to be issued –
managers will be asked to sign that they have received the correct equipment > Managers should compile and print a Ready for Unity pack (includes locally relevant workflows, SOPs, QRGs, and go-live rota)

CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
Shout out has been a regular feature
in Heartbeat 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
heart–warming messages which have
been sent via our website and social
media platforms.
To: Rob the volunteer, Dawn, Gwen, Jayne,
Naz, Kira, Lily, Emma, and Sandie on
Lyndon 2
Sorry this is late coming, during my stay on
the ward their smiles, laughter and being
very helpful and kind helped me through
each day, keep it up you are fantastic
people.
From: Jayne Morgan
To: Student Nurses on Lyndon 5
Very grateful to student nurses who were
on Lyndon 5 week commencing 17 June.
They offered great support to the ward
during a very tough week. Thank you all.
From: Alice and Karen
To: D25, Amandeep Kaur and Amanvir
Hayre
For going the extra mile in making an
extremely anxious patient feel comfortable
before surgery, and for putting her at ease.
You really helped in getting her to theatre
and did a superb job. Well done!
From: Rob Parker
To: Jason and The Sapphire Service
Amazing work the team are doing!
Nothing is too much and they are there
for the benefit of the patients no matter
the problem. We as a team are grateful for
your service and I'm sure the patients are
ecstatic! The recent work with a patient in
his home to help him gain a better quality
of life is astounding! thank you so much
for your intervention! Keep up the good
work and the alcohol team will spread
the word of the miracles you perform in
holistic patient care!
From: Amy Hunt
To: Haroon Akhtar
Went the extra mile! Fabulous assistance
with the VPN on our laptops and also
resolved 3 other IT issues! Well done and
thank you, you are a credit to your team.
Also full of smiles - thanks.
From: Jenny Cadwallader-Hunt and Sally
Haycox
To: Stephanie Bament
Steph has helped source essential
equipment at exceptionally short notice
(less than 24hrs) in order to ensure safe
delivery of continuous care on the NNU
during the ground works for the extension
of the neonatal unit. She recognised
the need to expedite the process and
maintain safe service functionality. Steph
also signposted me on process and who
to contact for help completing the task.
Thank you, you made my Wednesday
afternoon and job so much easier!
From: Jennifer Cadwallader-Hunt
To: Band 6s on D5/D7
Huge thanks to the band 6s on D5 and
D7 who have significantly reduced the
number of false PPCI call outs since the
introduction of the alert phone. Well
done you're all doing an amazing job!
From: Michelle Holt
To: Emma Thompson
Ray the son of Violet who sadly passed
away after a 9 days on AMUA, wanted
to share his heart warming thanks to
Dr Emma & the team. He stated all the
staff were welcoming, friendly and
caring but in particular Dr Emma took
extra time to chat daily with them- on a
busy unit. This attention was noted and
made a difference to them as a family.
From: Jody Stubbs
To: Alan Patterson
Alan has been amazing and extremely
professional and accommodating in his
role as painter and decorator for the
Trust whilst completing painting work
on Lyndon One. I would like to say
thank you from myself and the team
on Lyndon 1 for making our ward area
bright and cheerful, and also for going
that extra mile.
From: Joanne Wright
To: Tim Lock
He is always very cheerful and friendly
when transporting staff between two
sites. Service with a smile.
From: Stephanie Coates
To: Angela Mack
For recently supporting a twin mummy,
ensuring she had received all the best
evidence based knowledge regarding
colostrum harvesting and expressing for
her soon to be premature babies. And
discussing the benefits and protective
factors of her milk!
From: Carmen Nuttall
To: Martin Butler
Thank you to Martin, for coming over to
our new department clinic 6A first floor
outpatients and sorting out our air con/air
flow temperature. In recent days we have
been melting (no windows) with the higher
temperatures. Martin came and sorted it
out and we now have much better working
conditions.
From: Jean Whitehouse
To: Barbara Sawyers
Went out of her way to help me and a
patient who I had taken from my ward.
Waited most of the day and evening
waiting to be seen chasing up and
seeing what is happening. And to Janet
from Boaters restaurant (I think that
was her name) for helping as well. You
were both stars.
From: Lee Hunt
18

Recognising years of service to
the NHS
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
Two colleagues who had each
reached the 40 year milestone were
among those being recognised at the
most recent Long Service Awards.
Between them they have managed
to contribute a staggering 80 years
of service to the NHS!
This included Mrs Mavis Grant, Senior
HCA Admitted Care – Medicine &
Emergency Care who started working
for the NHS on 24 July 1978. Mavis is
known for her friendly and supportive
manner and the calming effect she
has on both colleagues and patients.
Always pleasant and hardworking she
is someone who has always shown
an inner strength particularly during
challenging times over her long and
fulfilling career.
Also recognised on the day was Ian
Hawthorn from our estates team who
started his career as an apprentice
Mavis Grant accepting her award from
Director of People and OD, Raffaela Goodby
craftsman in 1978. He progressed to
become an electrician in 1981 and rose
through the ranks to estates operational
manager in 2005.
Ian often goes above and beyond in order
to achieve deadlines for capital projects
and maintain a safe patient environment.
This can involve working long hours and
weekends which mostly goes unseen. Over
the past 12 years Ian has been instrumental
in organising the annual Trust Charity bike
ride, raising in the region of £30,000 which
goes towards local charities as well as the
Ian Hawthorn receives his long service award
Trust charitable fund.
Raffaela Goodby, Director of People and OD
said: “Chairman, Richard Samuda leads the
Long Service Awards ceremony for our Trust
twice a year. I was delighted to stand in for
him at our recent event and recognise the
fantastic service of hundreds of colleagues.
We welcome our long serving colleagues
and love to welcome family members to the
ceremony, often celebrating generations of
families giving their lives to this Trust and
our patients.”
Nurse recruitment event makes
'on the day' job offers
Matrons, sisters and ward managers
were out in force on 10 July as the Trust
welcomed visitors to the Postgraduate
Education Centre at City Hospital as
part of a nursing open day.
Departments from primary care community
and therapies, to paediatrics and from
theatres to elderly care were in attendance
for the day-long event that welcomed
individuals curious about joining nursing to
find out more about the services that the
Trust’s hard-working nurses provide.
Whether it was nurses from other Trusts,
those looking to get back into nursing,
those student nurses who were looking for
guidance or even those with a non-nursing
background in care, there was plenty of
discussion at the event, which also saw
nineteen planned and ‘ad-hoc’ interview
panels held for Band 5 positions, of which
15 applicants secured conditional offers.
“Recruiting is always important for our
organisation, especially at present with
demand for nursing staff so high across our
Paediatrics were just one of the teams out to
woo interested visitors
local area,” explained Deputy Chief Nurse,
Paul Hooton to Heartbeat.
“It’s important for Sandwell and West
Birmingham to hold events like these so
as to show our dedication to caring and
our best advertisement is our nursing staff.
I can’t wait to see our new colleagues
helping patients in Sandwell, City, Rowley
Regis and throughout the Trust.”
These nurses will join those already set to
join the Trust over the course of the next
year from other locations, such as the fifty
plus from Australia that has been reported
in local media earlier this month.
Speaking with the Sandwell Express and
Star, Chief Executive Toby Lewis clarified this
move:
“More than 50 nurses will join us over the
next year from the Antipodes, albeit some
are returning Brits.” Mr Lewis added: “We
are engaged in discussions with a number
of other partners about other recruitment
projects abroad, notwithstanding
intimations that a national approach could
be taken under the recently-published
Interim People Plan from NHS England.”
More recruitment events will be held
throughout the year ahead, should you
be interested in other opportunities at
the Trust, please contact Amir Ali on
extension 6148.
19

Celebrating the Windrush generation
and our contribution to the NHS
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
Guests enjoy the Windrush festivities
On the 23 June we held our second
event to acknowledge and celebrate
the contribution made by the Windrush
generation to the NHS.
Last year, with the 70th anniversary of both
the arrival of the Windrush and the birth of
the NHS taking place within weeks of each
other, Donna Mighty, Assistant Primary Care
Liaison Manager & Chair of the BME Staff
Network wanted to mark the occasion with
something special.
“I thought that it was really important as a
Trust that we acknowledge the Windrush
generation. It’s no coincidence that the
(anniversary) dates are so close together.”
A tea party was held which was very well
received and a positive output was that a
number of portraits of Caribbean nurses
were taken which are now displayed around
the Education Centre at Sandwell Hospital.
Hoping to build on last year’s success,
the idea of a garden party was formed. A
variety of partner organisations including
Recognize Black Heritage and Culture,
the University of Birmingham BAME Staff
Network and Ladywood Arts Forum came
together to organise the event securing
Soho House in Handsworth.
“We wanted to bring the garden party into
the heart of the community, which worked
really well with lots of people turning up.”
Donna said. “Many people have never even
heard of the venue, so it was also nice to
raise awareness of Soho House itself”.
On the day there was music, food and
garden games to enjoy. There were also
two black heritage walks from the site
and later on in the evening, a showing
of the film, Fire in Babylon.
A good number of people enjoyed the
party and took part in the walks with
about 250 passing through during the
day.
The food was generously donated by
the Real Junk Food Project Birmingham,
a project which intercepts food that
would otherwise go to waste from
supermarkets, restaurants and other
sources; turning it into healthy, nutritious
meals for all on a “Pay-As-You-Feel”.
They kindly gifted the food for the event.
Donna is really pleased with the way the
celebrations went and is already looking
ahead to 2020. She said: “It worked so
well this year, we are exploring whether
we lock in the venue again next year!”
Our volunteer service are centre
stage at national event
Our volunteer service was at the heart
of a recent national event hosted at City
Hospital by Helpforce, an organisation
committed to creating a better future in
health and care through the power of
volunteering.
Trusts from across England gathered
to participate and share ideas on how
to improve patient experience through
volunteers. Manchester University NHS
Foundation, South West Yorkshire and
Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trusts were
some of the many trusts that attended.
Sally Williams, Learning Network Manager at
Helpforce, told us: “The purpose of today’s
event was to bring trusts and volunteer
service managers together to share their
success stories, challenges and to see how
they can help one another.
“We definitely achieved the desired
outcome, with representatives from the
trusts having the opportunity to network with
one another. Everyone engaged in conversation
and activities on how best to improve their
volunteer service. We would like to thank the
volunteer team at SWB for their wonderful
hospitality. They looked after us so well and
made each of us feel so welcome.”
We are one of 12 pilot trusts selected by
Helpforce to recruit volunteers specifically
for the mobility role, which allows patients
to maintain existing levels of mobility and
independence. This is by encouraging them to
walk or engage in safe exercises.
Jonathan Maddison, Volunteer Service Project
Manager was asked what he hoped to gain
from the event. He told us: “I appreciated
the fact that we were meeting managers
from other trusts and educating ourselves on
what they do for their volunteers, along with
how to ensure good practice in volunteer
management. It was a learning curve and
opportunity to connect with those who
are in similar positions to us in terms
of managing volunteers. It was an
informative event.”
Helpforce Roadshow event brings together
trusts from all around England
20

Say hello to me – Identifying
new starters
MEDICINE AND EMERGENCY
CARE
A new initiative in the emergency
department aims to combat new
starters feeling isolated and welcome
them to the team.
After being made aware that a number
of new colleagues were feeling isolated
during the first days and weeks at our
Trust, Annabel Bottrill, ED Matron and her
team decided to come up with a scheme
to help discreetly identify those who may
need some help to feel welcome. The
“Say Hello to Me” initiative was created,
a system of coloured dots which are
added to name badges.
The dots let colleagues know that the
member of staff is new and encourages
them to take extra time to engage and
Catherine Witton, Staff Nurse sports the
green dot showing she has worked in the
department for a year or more
offer support if needed. Each coloured
dot represents a different amount of time;
pink means that they have never worked
in NHS before, maybe because they are
newly qualified or have joined from abroad,
orange means that someone is new to the
department but has previously worked for
the NHS, green signals that they have
worked in the department for a year or
more and finally, light blue shows that the
person is bank, agency or locum staff.
Prior to this system being introduced
new starters were simply introduced
during handovers which meant that
they saw everyone as a large team and
during various shifts. The dots allow easy
identification of any colleagues that are
new, which pulls the team together and
builds a more collaborative team.
Annabel said: “This has helped build the
team and ensures that all new colleagues
are recognised which helps support them.
It has helped the new starters by making
them feel identified and part of a team.
We would like to develop this further
with silicone surrounds for name badges
and potentially roll it out across the whole
Trust.”
Single point of access shows
patients are receiving the right care
Figures have revealed that our single
point of access service (SPA) has seen a
total of 4,528 patients avoiding a trip
to our emergency departments since its
inception.
The initiative was launched in November
and is for patients being treated by their GP
who require emergency care.
GPs can call a special phone line linking
them to a team of nurses who will carry
out a telephone assessment and triage the
unwell person.
As well as thousands of patients bypassing
emergency departments at both Sandwell
and City Hospitals, our data shows a total
of 449 have completely avoided coming
into our hospitals, receiving the right care
through other pathways. The total number
of referrals during the period it has been
operating is now at 5,437.
Janice Barrett, who leads the team of nurses
said: “We have seen a phenomenal number
of referrals to the service and we have been
able to triage the patients so that they
receive the right care in the correct setting.
“This is what we set out to do when the
initiative was launched and we are very
pleased with the data so far. There are
still a number of GPs who are not using
the service and I would appeal to them
to contact SPA when they have a patient
requiring emergency care. It means that
they will be dealt with efficiently.”
Dr Simon Butler, a local GP from
Handsworth Wood Medical Centre said::
"The SWB SPA has been a really useful
Sister Jesiamma John, one of the SPA advisers
service to help manage my patients when I
need a specialist opinion.”
SPA does not replace the two week patient
pathway, urgent pathway referrals or single
point of access initiatives currently operating
for other Birmingham healthcare trusts.
21

Allergy poster scoops first prize at
European conference
A poster presented at an international
conference by allergy experts from our
Trust has scooped first prize.
The allergy health professional team
presented three posters in total at the
European Academy of Allergy and Clinical
Immunology (EAACI), which was held in
Lisbon.
Faye Mathias, Clinical Nurse Specialist,
showed data around nasal phototherapy,
whilst Gill Ashton, Paediatric Dietitian looked
at food allergy profiles observed within
ethnic populations.
The poster presented by specialist trainees
Amrit Dhesi and Maria Raptaki won in its
category.
Amrit said of the poster entitled ‘Regional
audit of paediatric anaphylaxis management
in the Midlands: Are we following the
national guidance?’: “I presented a regional
audit which was conducted in several
hospitals across the Midlands looking at
emergency anaphylaxis management and
compliance with national guidance.
“It highlighted the need for ongoing
education for health professionals particularly
with regards to counselling, adrenaline
autoinjector training and written emergency
plans before hospital discharge. The audit
was a fantastic collaboration between
other hospitals in the region and allows the
formation of strong links. The audit also
emphasized the high quality of history taking
which is key to allergy diagnosis."
Gill’s poster was titled ‘Food allergy profiles
observed within ethnic populations in
Sandwell and West Birmingham, UK’.
She said: “My research mainly highlighted
the importance of using culturally
appropriate food examples in dietetic
literature and translating information into
relevant languages. The audience was
interested to hear which food allergies
particular ethnic groups seemed to develop
as there isn’t much data on this in the UK or
worldwide. I believe that it will inspire others
to collect data like this in their own countries
or regions.”
Meanwhile, Faye’s poster was entitled
‘Acceptability and short term efficiency of
nasal phototherapy in a small paediatric
population, a patient and nursing
perspective’.
She added: “I reported on findings from
our paediatric allergy unit, the first UK NHS
Paediatric Allergy Unit to provide nasal
phototherapy (UVA, UVB and high intensity
natural light therapy) for difficult to manage
allergic rhinitis.
“The reported incidence of allergic rhinitis in
the UK paediatric population is high, and can
impact significantly on the child’s and family’s
quality of life. Despite standard medication
some children continue to experience
symptoms resulting in poor school
attendance, reduced academic performance,
restrictions on social activities and difficult
to manage asthma. It highlighted excellent
improvements in regard to quality of life and
WOMEN AND CHILD HEALTH
symptom control.”
“There were a few reports of mild side
effects, but the treatment was well
tolerated and fast, effective and pain free.
From a nursing perspective the treatment
was simple and quick to administer and
demonstrated great results. We are very
fortunate to be the first UK, NHS Trust
to provide this treatment; it adds an
additional treatment option to an already
excellent allergy service."
Allergologists, adult and paediatric
consultants, scientists, specialist nurses
and dietitians from all over the world
attend the annual conference, which
covers topics including food allergy,
asthma, allergic rhinitis (hayfever),
eczema, drug allergy, immunology and
allergy diagnosis.
The event aimed to 'help all attending
delegates and participants to advance
their knowledge and navigate the
complex world of today’s allergies and
clinical immunology'.
We have the biggest paediatric allergy
service in the region. It is hoped that the
information taken from this congress will
allow us to keep up-to-date with recent
research findings and new therapies
which will benefit our staff and patients.
(Left) Amrit Dhesi presents her prize-winning poster titled ‘Regional audit of paediatric anaphylaxis management in the Midlands: Are we following the
national guidance?’ as a doctor from another trust looks on
22

Excellence training gives theatres
nurses a better feel for their roles
SURGICAL SERVICES
In mid-June a training evening for
new theatre nursing staff was held
with the idea to give them a feel for
what they will be doing within their
new role in a safe space.
The initiative was the idea of
Bushra Mushtaq, Clinical Director of
Ophthalmology and organised for the
benefit of a new intake of nursing
colleagues who are not necessarily
ophthalmology trained but will receive
training on the job.
The evening consisted of three stations,
cataract, glaucoma and ocular plastics,
showing the range of equipment used
in these areas. The stations provided an
opportunity for nurses to have a handson
look at equipment, ask questions
and to receive a brief overview of the
sequence of usage for the equipment.
The idea was to give colleagues a feel for
what they will be doing within the role in
a way that would help to minimise any
Theatre Lead, Mr Yajati Ghosh and some of
the nursing team
apprehension. It also aimed to help bring
down any barriers there may be between
consultants and nursing colleagues.
The evening was a relaxed gathering where
colleagues could ask any questions they had
and ended with a dinner.
Feedback was that the evening was enjoyed
by all, particularly having the opportunity to
ask questions in an informal setting.
The session was facilitated by consultants
including Theatre Lead, Mr Yajati Ghosh,
Mr Mitra, Miss Mathews and senior nurses
Olive Johnson, Cheve Luckett and Ann
Durant.
“It was hugely successful, and the plan is
to do more of these and to include more
specialties,” Mr Ghosh said.
It is hoped that the training will be held 2-3
times a year to coincide with new intakes.
Bushra said: “The event helped to build
essential skills but also morale and team
spirit. It helped forge working relationships,
and gain insight into multiple essential
roles within the theatre setting. It helped to
develop a mutual understanding of pressure
on surgeons when doing the most delicate
surgery in the body and for surgeons to
understand how much work goes on in
the background by nurses in order to run
efficient ophthalmic theatres.
“Both the nursing staff and the surgeons
gained from this event which was reflected
in the feedback we received. We also had
a nice social element in the end with hot
buffet enjoyed by all and token gifts for the
nursing faculty.
“We plan to do these events regularly
due to popular demand and hope that
we maintain this excellent new learning
tradition.”
Critical care – What’s all the FUSS?
A patient’s journey in critical care does
not end when they leave our unit.
When a patient leaves the critical care unit,
their ongoing recovery is supported by the
follow up support service (FUSS). The team
of two is led by Senior Sister, Catherine
Beddowes alongside Senior Sister, Simone
Johnson-Newton.
The impact of a critical care stay is huge
both physically and psychologically
for patients and research shows that
patients who have been in critical care
can experience a long rehabilitation and
recovery taking up to 12 months and in
some cases beyond. Family members with
a loved one in critical care experience an
equally traumatic time but for very different
reasons and FUSS recognise the importance
of ensuring our relatives are fully supported
too. The FUSS team carry out ward visits, do
outpatient appointments and run quarterly
forums, which continue to offer support to
both the patients and their families.
The patient and carer forums run every
three months and are open to all previous
patients and their families for as long as
they wish to continue attending.
The forums provide continued support in
a safe and friendly environment. It enables
the coming together of patients and their
families to share their experiences and
listen and learn from those who have been
through a similar experience. The FUSS
team provide information and explanation
about physical symptoms and discuss at
length hallucinations and vivid nightmares
which many patients experience and find
most distressing in their memory of their
critical care stay. For patients, having this
context allows them to normalise those
experiences and help to gain some closure.
Catherine Beddowes said: “Patients and
relatives who attend the forums all feel
the huge benefit. For our patients, talking
about their experiences and sharing these
stories is one of the best therapies. For
families too, they find a great sense of relief
in being able to share their experiences and
feelings of being on the other side.”
Simone Johnson-Newton added: “It is such
a pleasure to see our patients leave forums
with a smile on their faces and to see how
new friendships are being forged.
“For critical care services, the forum
provides a great platform to receive both
positive and negative feedback. The main
benefit for colleagues is hearing the
opinions and perspectives directly from
patients and their families about their
experiences. In turn this helps to change
the way we think about the care we
give and the impact this care has on our
patients. Using feedback has enabled us
as a service to then explore ways, through
implementing change, to further enhance
the patient experience. Examples of this
have been - promoting the importance
of and use of patient diaries, providing
information for relatives about delirium
and enhancing both patient and family
involvement in the rehab process for our
long term patients.”
The patient and carer forums run every
three months
23

Bikers are on “the road” to
raising awareness
Respiratory patients and colleagues
cycled a virtual 75 miles to the
Cotswolds – all to raise money
for charity and awareness during
Pulmonary Rehab Week.
Ruth Morrey, Respiratory Physiotherapist
and Alice Harvey, Respiratory Clinician,
organised the event at Portway Leisure
Centre, in Oldbury where they set up in the
reception area on two exercise bikes.
In total £311 was raised through
sponsorship and the cash will be split
between Your Trust Charity and the British
Lung Foundation.
Sheila Worswick, a pulmonary rehab
patient, who carried out three 10 minute
sessions during the bikeathon, said: “I took
part in the bikeathon so that I could raise
awareness for the rehab programme and
also around lung conditions. I want people
to know how these sort of conditions can
Patients Sheila Worswick and Terry Blakesley
get on their bikes to start the virtual bikeathon
be helped and controlled. You don’t have to
just live with it.”
Sheila has been regularly attending
pulmonary rehab sessions with the
community respiratory team. She added: “I
really am feeling the benefits of attending
the sessions. I didn’t know there was
PRIMARY CARE, COMMUNITIES
AND THERAPIES
pulmonary rehab until my caring doctor
initiated things.”
Alice told Heartbeat: “As a Trust we
offer four different pulmonary rehab
classes around the area. It’s an excellent
treatment for patients with chronic lung
conditions such as COPD, Asthma and
Bronchiectasis, and we also offer it to
patients who are going for lung surgery.
“The event was held to raise awareness
of the lung conditions not just for the
public, but also for our GP practices in
the area.
“The money raised will go towards
funding equipment for the pulmonary
rehab group and other services that we
offer.”
Library service spreads the word
about health resources
Library services were out in force
earlier this month promoting the
health resources available within their
community.
This was to mark the promotion of Health
Information Week, a national, multisector
campaign to promote high quality
information for patients and the public.
Nicola Ager, Service Development
Librarian, and Preeti Puligari, Library and
Knowledge Services Manager, visited our
GP surgeries – Lyndon Health Centre, and
Great Bridge Health Centre – as well as
Sandwell Hospital’s main reception and
the Birmingham Treatment Centre at City
Hospital, to raise awareness around the
services.
The stand at Lyndon Health Centre, which
is based at Parsonage Street, focused on
mental health, whilst at Great Bridge Health
Centre, the spotlight was on long-term
conditions. Both roadshows also included
information on social prescribing.
The library team in partnership with our
Sandwell community librarians were
promoting the various support groups and
health and wellbeing sessions in community
that patients and public can access to help
recover, reduce loneliness and chat about
mental health issues.
Nicola Ager, Service Development Librarian,
Dr Ambreen Sheriff, GP at Great Bridge
Health Centre, Jayne Charlesworth, and Ann
Thomson, who are both Librarians at Great
Bridge Library.
One of the patients at Lyndon Health
Centre said she found “a way forward in
life” after speaking to the public library staff
and “learnt about useful online websites”
that she could research in her own time.
Meanwhile over at our hospital sites, the
team concentrated on health and digital
literacy.
Francis Osazuwa, Healthcare Assistant
at City Hospital said: “I learned about
some good online resources and support
groups from the community libraries that
I can share with patients.”
Patients visiting the sites were able to go
away with information about support
groups in the community, and also gain
knowledge about what reliable health
information is available for them to
access from public libraries in the area.
Preeti said: “We had a good response
across the areas, and especially at
Lyndon Health Centre.
“A walk-in centre is also based at the
practice which meant there were a lot
of patients waiting in the reception
to be seen by doctors. We had good
interaction with those who were there
and we are keeping in touch with
patients so we can find out how helpful
the service has been to them.
“In the coming months we will be
working with both the GP practices to
have a small collection of health and
wellbeing books and details of support
groups that practice staff can signpost
patients to in the community.”
24

Top tips for teeth as Trust takes to
the community
PRIMARY CARE, COMMUNITIES
AND THERAPIES
Our student health visitors took over
Boots in Cape Hill earlier this month
all in an effort to remind pre-school
children of the importance of brushing
teeth.
The health visitors encouraged parents of
children under the age of five to try dental
products and advised them on the benefits
of cleaning teeth from a young age. They
also answered questions parents had
around dental healthcare helped signpost
people to their local dentist.
Denise Darbyshire, Student Health Visitor
was part of the team at the chemist on
the day. She said: “It was fulfilling to be
able to educate so many parents around
dental healthcare in Smethwick on a range
of different topics from being smart with
sugar, when to see the dentist, when and
more importantly how often to brush and
the quantity of toothpaste necessary for
young children.”
According to the Royal College of Surgeons,
it’s estimated that around 80 per cent of 1-2
year old children haven’t visited a dentist in
Our student health visitors remind parents of pre-school children the importance of brushing teeth
12 months. Sarah Hibbert, Student Health
Visitor believes such a shocking statistic
should not exist in 2019 and hopes the
awareness event they hosted can help
reduce this figure.
She said: “If by us hosting this promotion
day helps just a few children have better
quality of teeth through their childhood
and adulthood then it will have been
worthwhile. Whether it’s frequency of trips
to the dentist or even just brushing teeth
twice a day, every little bit counts towards
improving oral hygiene and preserving the
quality of teeth into adulthood.”
Tooth decay is one of the most common
reasons children aged 5-9 are admitted to
hospital. Sarah added: “Sugary food and
drinks cause bacteria on teeth to produce
harmful acid that rots them and can lead
to painful toothaches. However, even
swapping sugary drinks out of a child’s daily
diet for plain water or even lower fat milks
could help prevent tooth decay in the long
term.”
Slips, trips and falls – Not on
my watch
Some people might consider patient
falls as being inevitable, something that
is bound to happen and no amount of
support will affect, but this is definitely
not the case for staff on the Eliza
Tinsley ward at Rowley Hospital who
have recently launched their pioneering
‘bay monitor’ campaign.
The project sees colleagues assigned to bays
wearing a red arm band taking ownership
to ensure patients are provided with
appropriate support so that their risk of
falling reduces.
To find out more about the project,
Heartbeat caught up with Matron, Justine
Irish who has championed this work, she
said: “Recently, we noticed that our last
three harms from falls were due to staff
leaving a bay to assist other patients or talk
to a relative, we discussed the issue with
the ward team and the idea of bay monitors
came from them. Essentially, with the
support of a visual aid, in this case the arm
bands, staff will have an extra cue to remind
them that when they need to leave their
bay, they must pass on the responsibility of
supporting their bay to a colleague. “
The project which has been in place for
three weeks has been received well with
colleagues commenting that ‘it empowers
them to take ownership and stay in the bay
without feeling guilty’ and the handover of
the arm band between colleagues reminds
them that they are accountable for the bay
and the duty of care of patients.
Sharing her thoughts on the campaign,
Justine added: “This was very much a trial
on Eliza Tinsley and we’re really proud that
colleagues have taken ownership of this
work, they’ve taken it from the initial idea
of a sash, to wholeheartedly welcoming the
arm bands. Hopefully we’ll see a reduction
in falls in our ward and if it does prove
successful, we’ll be looking to roll this out
to the rest of our community wards and
working with colleagues to see if inpatient
wards could benefit too.”
HCA, Hayley Spittle proudly shows off her bay
monitor arm band
25

OU students receive insight into
cardiac rehabilitation
PRIMARY CARE, COMMUNITIES
AND THERAPIES
Students from the OU, staff from the Careers and Employability team along with Christos Lykidis,
Senior Exercise Physiologist enjoy the morning
On 12 June 2019 the cardiac
rehabilitation team arranged for 10
health science undergraduate students
from the Open University to visit our
cardiac rehabilitation department at
City Hospital. The morning provided
an opportunity for the students
to familiarise themselves with the
theoretical principles underpinning
cardiac rehabilitation and also observe
the busy exercise classes.
The team have been committed to
informing the future workforce about
cardiac rehabilitation and also to raising
the profile of the department and our
workplace.
They have established collaborations
with all major higher education
institutions within Birmingham,
facilitating various clinical or work
placements as well as lectures and other
educational activities.
Christos Lykidis, Senior Exercise
Physiologist commented: “It has been
a great pleasure to host this insight day
for Open University students who were
informed on the theory underpinning
cardiac rehabilitation, observed the staff
working practices during a busy exercise
class and also had the opportunity to
talk to our patients. I would like to
thank our collaborators from the Open
University as well as the learning and
development department for addressing
the administrative side of this insight
day. “
Joanne Cordon from the Employer
Engagement team at the Open
University said: “OU students usually
have a wide range of practical life and
work experience that employers value
in addition to their OU study, so they
are especially keen to see how academic
knowledge is applied in real-life
situations. The visit gave our dedicated
students a fascinating glimpse of health
sciences at work, inspiring them to keep
working towards their career goals.”
Reducing our reliance on
single use plastics
Part of the chief executive’s monthly column this
year is focussed on our plans to change our use of
single use plastics.
The next plastics reduction initiative on our ‘bucket’ list requires your
help. When ordering the Clinell wipes, please only order the refill wipes
themselves that are placed inside the bucket container and not the bucket
each time.
The bucket should have multiple uses. In doing this, we can save money and
also significantly reduce the amount of plastic waste we dispose of.
Do you have any other ideas to help us reduce our reliance on single use
plastics? Send them to Fran Silcocks, Sustainability Officer
francesca.silcocks@nhs.net
26

New weekend MRI service means
faster treatment for patients
IMAGING
The imaging department is now
providing an inpatient MRI service on
Saturdays and Sundays. This service
is available at both the City and
Sandwell sites in addition to the regular
metastatic cord compression slots that
have always been available.
The service is currently provided between
the hours of 2.30pm and 5pm and,
requests are prioritised on the basis of
clinical need. The aims of this new service
provision are to:
• Improve patient experience
• Facilitate faster diagnosis and/or
treatment
• Reduce the waiting time for MRI scans
across the Trust
• Smooth the peaks and troughs
of inpatient MRI demand across
the week.
Reporting of the scans is undertaken
offsite by one of the imaging department’s
external tele-radiology partners, within four
hours.
Early analysis of performance has shown
that at Sandwell on average five inpatients
are scanned on a Saturday and four on a
Sunday. All have been reported within two
to four hours.
“At a recent MRI service review meeting
Senior radiographers at the Sandwell MRI Centre
between the Trust and InHealth (who
provide the MRI facility), the inpatient
radiology care pathway was identified as an
area that would benefit from optimisation.
As such, a joint decision to provide
weekend scanning services at Sandwell
General Hospital for urgent inpatients was
made,” said Judith Davis, the operational
manager of InHealth.
“We feel that this additional capacity, with
the support of the Trust portering team and
referring clinicians, will significantly ease
inpatient pressures, whilst reducing waiting
times and improving the patient experience.
Initial feedback to the Trust imaging
management and InHealth teams has been
extremely positive.”
Fiona Rotherham, Deputy Group Director
of Operations for imaging, said: “This new
service means access to MRI seven days a
week, facilitating clinical decisions without
delay. This ultimately improves patient
outcomes and experience by enabling
patient treatment plans to commence
sooner and reducing unnecessary hospital
stays.”
SWBH
Sandwell and
West Birmingham
NHS Trust
intranet at your fingertips
Do you find it difficult to stay up
to date with everything that’s
happening in our organisation?
We have just launched a brand
new app which aims to give you
the ability to access information
that would normally be found on
the intranet from the comfort of
your mobile phone.
Download the app from Apple
App Store or Google Play
Store on to your Trust mobile
phone or your personal mobile
phone by searching for ‘SWBH
myConnect’.
For more information contact
the Communications team
on 0121 507 5303 or email
swbh.comms@nhs.net
27

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 swbh.comms@nhs.net
Yvonne kicks her way to gold
in Croatia
Yvonne Gibson, a mild mannered
health visitor kicked her way to
winning a Gold medal in foot
destruction at the recent European
Taekwondo Championships in
Novigrad, Croatia.
Not only did Yvonne win a gold medal
for foot destruction but she also achieved
two bronze medals. One of these medals
was for sparring and one for patterns
made up of 68 movements and to top it
off, this was after Yvonne took a 27 year
break from Taekwondo.
In 1982, Yvonne originally started training
to help with building her confidence
and for self-defence, however she soon
discovered she had exceptional talent in
Taekwondo and was encouraged to enter
competitions by her instructor. Currently,
she is a 3rd degree international Black
Belt. She also attained a World Champion
sparring bronze trophy in 1985 and a
World Champion Gold medal in foot
destruction in 2013 and 2016.
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art,
characterised by its emphasis on headheight
kicks, jumping and spinning
kicks and fast kicking techniques. The
martial art requires intense training which
Yvonne embraced in the lead up to the
championships in Croatia where she
took on an intense training programme
alongside her day job.
Yvonne said: “Building up to the
championships in Croatia I was training at
least five times a week compared to the
usual twice a week alongside balancing
my refereeing duties at local Taekwondo
tournaments and my health visitor role.”
Competition was fierce with many
Yvonne Gibson show off her medals
top athletes from across Europe at the
competition in Croatia but Yvonne feels
she did herself and Great Britain proud.
She said: “I felt honoured to be able to
represent my country. I would like to say
a massive thank you to everybody who
supported me as well my coaches as
without them I wouldn’t have been so
successful.”
Yvonne isn’t planning on hanging up her
Taekwondo suit anytime soon as she is
hoping to attain her 4th degree black belt
in the martial art.
NHS 71 not out as smoking ban
comes in
Birmingham may have played host to the
Cricket World Cup but it was the NHS
that achieved a most impressive total on
5 July, when it celebrated its seventy-first
birthday.
Last year's NHS 70 celebrations were, of
course, very large indeed. However 2019
saw an equally big turnout thanks in-part
to the birthday also being the launch date
of smokefree across our workplace.
Colleagues turned out at Sandwell
General Hospital's Courtyard Garden to
chat, catch-up and enjoy themselves with
a free lunch of Indian cuisine, something
more burger-shaped from a visiting
kitchen van or a refreshing ice cream to
enjoy in the blazing sunshine. The event,
organised by trade union UNISON also
had a number of other tents designed to
educate and entertain.
From the education side, the Trust's library
team were in attendance to talk about
how their healthy living board games
could be used by colleagues to train and
inform both inside and outside of the Trust
and representatives from both vaping shop
operators Ecigwizard and Everyone Health
to explain alternatives to smoking tobacco
based products.
Caroline Kenny, Community Engagement
Lead at Everyone Health told Heartbeat:
"Cigarettes contain several thousand
chemicals in each cigarette, and cause
lots of illnesses to not just the respiratory
system but all around the body. It's in
people's best interest, certainly the best
interest of their health, to not smoke.
We're there for those that do by helping
with smoking cessation."
For those looking for something more
carefree, there was also a popcorn
machine, sweets and cupcakes as well
as a tent for people to pick up a cold
slush-style beverage. UNISON were also
running multiple competitions, including
a raffle and a contest to guess the name
of a truly ginormous bear who watched
over proceedings. The bear eventually
revealed itself - Heartbeat did not ask
how - to be named 'Mia' and it was won
by Healthcare Assistant, Louise Hall from
Lyndon 3.
"It's the 71st birthday of the NHS, and
it's always nice to celebrate the birthday
under the effect of 'it's free at point-ofdelivery',"
said Chris Rickards, colleagues
Side Convenor and UNISON Branch
Secretary. "The things we're doing here
today, are free for people to come and
enjoy - staff or public - it's great to bring
everyone together to celebrate the NHS."
Chris Rickards at the event held in the
Courtyard Garden
28

Cheryl Newton
Group Director of Nursing for Women and Child Health
We would like to give a SWB welcome to
Cheryl Newton who has returned to her
roots having trained at as a registered
general nurse at Dudley Road Hospital in
1986. Finding the experience thoroughly
enjoyable, Cheryl decided that paediatrics
was where her heart lay.
She told Heartbeat: “I then trained as a
registered sick children’s nurse at Birmingham
Children’s Hospital in 1992 and returned
to Dudley Road soon after. I went on to
train as a health visitor and worked within
the community supporting families. I
continued my professional journey and have
held various leadership roles for universal
and specialist children’s services including
spending two years working within Black
Country Partnership as a general manager for
children’s and CAMH’s services.”
Cheryl’s role involves supporting service
innovation and delivery with the nursing,
therapy and health visiting teams across
acute paediatrics, gynaecology, neonates,
community children’s nursing, and therapy
services.
“Time seems to have flown by since joining
in June,” added Cheryl. “I look forward to
getting to know colleagues within the teams. I
am also looking forward to hearing about and
observing great care in action and working
with colleagues to celebrate this whilst also
supporting each of the specialities in further
service development to realise innovation in
practice and provide the best possible care.”
Away from work Cheryl enjoys live music,
theatre and cycling. She said: “I have
completed several long distance events,
cycling from London to Paris, Prudential 100
(London) and the Birmingham/West Midlands
Velo twice each time raising money for
charity.”
Cheryl Newton, Group Director of Nursing for
Women and Child Health
Julie Thompson
Group Director of Nursing for Medicine and Emergency Care
Returning to the SWB family after eight
years, we would like to give a warm
welcome to Julie Thompson, our new
Group Director of Nursing for Medicine
and Emergency Care.
Julie started her career at City Hospital in
1979. She left briefly to follow a career in
critical care in Coventry before returning to
City Hospital to work on the West Midlands
Poisons unit as a ward manager: “I then
set up the first medical assessment unit at
City and completed my master’s degree
in advanced clinical practice,” Julie told
Heartbeat.
Her next step was to become one of
the first matrons when the role was reintroduced
by the Government.
“It was an interesting time,” Julie
reminisced. “We initially were given red
jackets which made us the butt of many
jokes!
“I was then offered an excellent opportunity
to work on the Mid Staffordshire NHS
Foundation Trust Review. I left in 2011 to
work in Burton as head nurse for medicine
and emergency care, a role I did for three
years. During this time I set up a frailty team
at the front door, innovated and delivered
an enhanced care team for the care of
patients with cognitive impairments which I
rolled out to 12 trusts across the country.
“The opportunity to return to SWB was too
good to pass by. I knew it would be a good
place to complete my career back where it
all began.”
Julie’s role is to lead on nursing and to
ensure that the medicine and emergency
care group deliver high quality, safe care to
our patients.
She said: “It is also about developing and
empowering nursing teams to be the best
they can be and to enjoy coming to work.
It involves working with teams across all
groups and supporting and advising when
nursing expertise is required. It also means I
have to provide assurance to the executive
team regarding nursing and patient
care and safety. An element of this is
surrounding patient journeys from the front
door to the discharge home.
“I feel positive and look forward to the
challenges that are ahead especially the
move into Midland Met.”
In her spare time Julie enjoys cycling and
taking part in cycling events. She loves to
travel and is currently learning Spanish. She
added: “I also enjoy time with my three
beautiful grandchildren. I also fit in three
hours of voluntary work a week to support
those in need.”
Julie Thompson, Group Director of Nursing for
Medicine and Emergency Care
29

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
Where is the protection for
staff?
Dear Heartbeat,
I was led to believe that the Trust was
supposed to practice a zero tolerance policy!
Although I think I may be wrong. I would
therefore like to ask that why a patient whom
of which has mental capacity is allowed to be
physically and verbally abusive to staff, along
with being racist!!!
Today along with my colleagues I have been
racially, verbally and physically abused by
this patient. He has also spat at me and my
colleagues.
We have been told to document all of the
patient’s verbal comments. Needless in saying,
nothing has been done. Although he has
been spoken to by one of the lead directors
in regards to his behaviour, we sadly have to
tolerate it, why???
Why should we, and have to tolerate such
appalling behaviour? It is extremely distressing
not only for staff but for other patients and
their visitors to hear this language which is
extremely offensive.
We are all disgusted and distressed in putting
up with such appalling behaviour from a
patient, with nothing being done.
I look forward to hearing your reply.
Anon
Dear colleague
I am so sorry that you have experienced
such unacceptable behaviour from a
patient. As you imply, we have very clear
policies on Mutual Respect and Tolerance,
and an approach that red/yellow cards
patients and visitors where there are
persistent issues. The red/yellow card
policy will be re-launched in September.
I now coordinate a monthly security
management group, reporting to our
Risk Management Committee, to improve
our response to such incidents. This
includes de-escalation training and the
introduction of body cameras into clinical
areas. We would expect those changes to
be in place by Christmas.
On a day to day basis, your directorate
matron should be able to coordinate our
response and make sure things are done,
liaising with Paula Gardner or with me. It
sounds like that did not happen this time
and as a team you might want to talk
through with your ward manager so that if
this re-occurs you are well supported. I am
sorry for what happened.
Kind regards
Rachel Barlow, Chief Operating Officer
Should security allow you onto
the car park if your card is not
working?
Dear Heartbeat,
I would like to highlight the problem we are
having with the security staff at Sandwell. I came
on duty one night and my pass card to the car
park where the mobile breast screen scanner was
situated allowed me to enter.
When I returned again after being out on visits
to see patients as we are the out of hours district
nurses my card declined to let me on the car park
at 00.30. So I pressed the buzzer to inform the
security guard and he hung up on me. I had to
press again and the barrier was lifted for me to
enter to park my car. I pay £21.25 per month to
park my car in order to do the job I am paid to
do.
Another colleague was forced to park on the
road as her card would not work as it kept saying
invalid. The security guard on duty refused to let
her on and told her to sort her card out the next
day. This put a colleague (female) in a vulnerable
unsafe position as she had to park up the road
and walk down to the base which is the palliative
care hub.
Could you please tell me what the protocol is for
when the barriers refuse your card – what should
security do in those instances?
Regards
Anon
Dear colleague,
Thank you for your letter. Security colleagues
make every effort to manage these
occasional situations sensitively. I am sorry
that on this occasion you were refused
entry. We are working to improve barrier
reliability, and the arrangements for this
will change later in 2019 when Q-Park take
on responsibility for our car parks. Mark
Stankovich in my team manages our security
team and if you have queries in the future
you would be well advised to get in touch
with Mark.
Kind regards,
Rachel Barlow, Chief Operating Officer
Patient information must be
ready before discharge through
transport
Dear Heartbeat,
I work as a controller for patient transport and
I am wondering if nursing staff on wards can
check if discharge patients using patient transport
have keys or whether relatives aware that their
loved ones are coming home? Or even if they are
being discharged to the right address?
The ambulance crews are having to bring patients
back to wards on a regular basis because none of
the above has been done. This is wasting travel
time and it can’t be very nice for the patients
either!
Also, when control staff try to ring the wards for
clarification or more information the phone is not
answered for ages and ward staff don’t seem to
have the information to hand.
This is very frustrating because it is delaying
discharge of patients and we at patient transport
can’t do our jobs properly.
Kind regards
Anon
Dear colleague,
Thank you for your letter.
I have liaised with all group directors
of nursing to ensure that we are safely
discharging our patients in particular those
patients requiring transport. We have also
put in place mechanisms to ensure our
processes are appropriately monitored.
Going forward do ask your line managers
to talk directly to the ward managers and
matrons of those wards where things seem
to go persistently awry. As you write, we
need to get this right.
Kind regards
Paula Gardner, Chief Nurse
30

Toby writes about …
getting started with Unity
TobyLewis_SWBH
TOBY’S LAST WORD
In a few weeks’ time we will take
our first few Unity steps. The “first
few steps” because over the next six
months we will also switch on our
Patient Portal. And with go-live our
Health Information Exchange (HIE)
connection into each local general
practice switches on. In between
we begin to try and manage the
optimisation of Unity use across our
workplace. What that means is that
individuals and individual teams will
begin to get comparative data on your
use of the system. That is because the
collective calibre of how we use Unity
will determine how much value we all
get from it.
Part of the value that we are
seeking is to reduce the amount
of time spent looking for, or
recreating information. But part of
the value too lies in understanding
the history of the patients that we
look after, across and between
departments, and across our own
work and that of primary care. It is
very clear from our current work on
the 48-hour Bridge project that there is
still more we can do to ‘join up’ care.
In that project’s first few weeks over
500 patient discharges from hospital
have been followed up by community
teams. Almost half of those patients
are now benefitting from other care
that was not part of the discharge
summary or care plan. The impact
of that kind of work on unplanned
re-admissions is yet to be calculated,
but is prima facie significant. At the
same time, as we focus more and
more effort on radiology, and turning
scans into reports and reports into
clinical decisions, it becomes clear
how routine requests are being made
with limited insight into previous scan
reports.
We all know that, despite all of the
training and work that has gone into
preparation, some things we do now
will take longer in the first few days
of Unity implementation. That is why
we are working on three things to
manage those risks:
1. So-called Gold and Silver teams
will have additional staff in
place to 110% and 120% of
current for the first fortnight
after go-live
2. Planned and elective care has
been reduced by up to 40% for
the immediate go-live period
3. We are focusing on the
optimisation metrics so that
we can track by individual
employee, team and directorate
how people are using the
system, who is using it best,
and how everyone can learn
from that.
We have over 20 optimisation
measures to test how well
Unity is working for you! These
include:
• Maximum log in time for top
10% of users
• Average log on time
• Undifferentiated total number of
clicks per session
• Saved but unsigned documents
• Clerking KPIs - based on
maximum 5 tasks to complete
clerking activities
• VTE assessment completed in 6
hours from admission
• Care plans completed
• Drugs administered without a
bar code scanner
• Accuracy of consultant
attribution
• Orders verified within 72 hours
of prescribing
• Drug histories completed within
48 hours of admission
• Results acknowledgment –
time of result available to time
acknowledged average and
longest
If you are a line manager, you have, of
course a dual responsibility. Your own
practice needs to be up to scratch.
Many line management roles are now
designated as super users. Those super
user colleagues get additional
training, but also are responsible
for making sure that others in the
department know how to use Unity
well. That responsibility includes
any bank or agency staff working in
your area.
We need you to make sure you:
• Complete your on-line
CapMan training during
August
• Finish your Unity
Competencies, which we
launched in April, and have
your skills validated by your
line manager
• Take part in the team
readiness simulations that
were launched with QIHD in
early July
There is little substitute for
using the on-line resources that
you can find on Connect. Quick
Reference Guides should lead you
through the key steps you need to
take on the system to do what you
want to do for our patients. The
Play System lets you test out your
skills in a safe environment.
If you are reading this and worrying
that everyone else is miles ahead of
you, worry not. There is still time for
you to become expert in Unity. And
we need you to do that. But you
need to start now!
By the end of August our devices
and printers will be out and
about and tested. Wifi completes
installation in coming days. Look
out for details of the Tap and Go
product which will give you speedy
access to Unity at your PC and
prevent other people using your
log in.
As the centre-spread sets out, we
are weeks away from potential
go-live. Please play your part in
this huge change in the way our
organisation cares for patients.
See page 26 for August's
plastics reduction initiative.
31

Events diary August 2019
EVENT DATE TIME VENUE
Public Trust Board 1 9.30am to 12.30pm
Conference Room, Education Centre,
Sandwell Hospital
Clinical Leadership Executive 27 2pm to 5pm Anne Gibson Boardroom, City Hospital
SWB TeamTalk 28
Mental Health Awareness for Managers 1
Introduction to Managing Anger and
Frustration
11am – midday
1pm – 2pm
1pm – 2pm
10am – 1pm
7 10am – 1pm
Committee Room, Rowley Regis Hospital
Education Centre, Sandwell Hospital
Post Graduate Centre, City Hospital
Berridge Room, Courtyard Gardens, Sandwell
Hospital
Berridge Room, Courtyard Gardens, Sandwell
Hospital
Suicide Awareness 15 10am – 1pm Surgical Skills Room Postgraduate, City
Workplace Stress Management 27 1.30pm – 4.30pm Surgical Skills Room Postgraduate, City
Introduction to Mindfulness 21 10am – 1pm Berridge Room, Courtyard Gardens, Sandwell
June 2019 staff lottery results
1st £187.50
Karen Burkitt
Name: ___________________________________________
Name: Name: ___________________________________________
2nd £112.50
Anne Marie Rutland
July Heartbeat cr
3rd £75.00
Remilynn Dichoso
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.
July Heartbeat crossword
Date: ___________________
1
1
2 2 3 3
1
4
4
_____________________________
2 3
Date: ___________________
5
5
July Heartbeat crossword
4
Take a break:
5
in this month's Heartbeat
1
4
2 3
Test your knowledge of the news in this month's
Heartbeat by completing the crossword below. You
can e–mail your answers to swbh.comms@nhs.net
and all correct answers will be put into a draw to
win vouchers – good luck!
5
Across Across
4. Who 4. Who won won gold gold at the at the the recent recent European European Taekwondo
Championships?
5. What 5. What anniversary is the is the Sandwell Sandwell Day Day Nursery Nursery celebrating?
Down Down
1. What 1. Wha tea
2. What 2. Wha is
3. Which 3. Whic fa
Across
4. Who won gold at the the recent European Taekwondo
Championships?
5. What anniversary is the Sandwell Day Nursery celebrating?
Down
1. What team runs the hospitals when darkness falls?
2. What is the Unity focus for August?
3. Which famous American newspaper ran a story on our smoking ban?