Heartbeat October 2019

HELLO
FROM THE CHAIR
Star Awards show the very best
of SWB
Welcome to the October edition
of Heartbeat. As always, there has
been so much happening in and
around our Trust.
This month we take a look back at
the glitzy Star Awards. Critical care
has introduced a dedicated quiet
time and Tower Hill Medical Practice
launched a new eye care service. Our
exec team have been leading the way
with this year’s flu campaign and Unity
continues to make a positive impact.
There’s all this, plus so much more to
catch up on. Enjoy!
Contact us
Communications Team
Ext 5303
swbh.comms@nhs.net
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
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for an article, contact the
communications team
Ext 5303
swbh.comms@nhs.net
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can now read Heartbeat articles
throughout the month on Connect.
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Our annual star awards ceremony is
always an uplifting evening where we
are privileged to recognise the best
achievements from across our 6000+
workforce. This year, more than ever,
I was delighted to see the range of
guests who were shortlisted for our 19
categories and those who, on the night,
secured the trophy.
Many of these are unsung heroes within
our Trust who are rarely recognised, but
their manager, colleague, patient or relative
thought them worthy of being considered
for an award. Among the nominations of
over 500 their stories shone through and
they truly are deserving winners.
Of course, everyone who is nominated has
done something remarkable and our awards
night would need to be several hours longer
to recognise the fantastic achievements of
all our staff during the previous year. That’s
why our annual awards scheme is just one
way of recognising the commitment of so
many within the Trust.
I wanted to remind you of the many ways
you can ensure your team or colleagues
get the recognition they deserve. We
launched earlier this year our employee of
the week award, which is now given weekly
rather than monthly. The award is open to
anyone, clinical and non-clinical, who has
gone above and beyond in their daily work.
Details of how to enter are in this magazine
and on the Connect intranet site.
Our long service awards recognise years of
service to the NHS and when I attend this
ceremony I remain so proud of the years of
dedication and selfless service that are given
by so many to support our patients and
relatives.
Every week the Trust features one of our
colleagues as a NHS hero in the local
newspaper. These heroes are people who
lead interesting lives both inside and outside
work and the feature helps our local
population understand a bit more about
the fantastic staff we have working here as
well as the varied roles on offer. Our heroes
are often published within this Heartbeat
magazine.
A simple “thank you” and “well done”
goes a long way. The Shout-out scheme via
Connect enables you to write a short note
to a colleague for something they have
done that deserves praise. During the Unity
go live fortnight we saw Shout-outs come
in for scores of people who demonstrated
their commitment to patient care by
supporting colleagues round the clock in
getting to grips with the new electronic
patient record.
Colleague stories are also shared in
Heartbeat for all to read so if your team or
an individual has done something amazing
don’t hesitate to get in touch with the
communications team – details on the
facing page. The most newsworthy stories
are often published in the local, regional
and even national media and you can see
where our Trust features in the “SWB in the
news” section of Connect.
Finally, a reminder: I wrote last month
about the national staff survey and since
then you will all have received an email
or letter to your home address with an
invitation to complete the national staff
survey. As well as informing national policy
on NHS workforce issues, this survey is
vital in telling us how we compare to other
organisations so we can improve and make
SWB a great place to work. Please take
the time to complete your survey, which
is entirely anonymous. The responses are
carefully reviewed and acted upon to make
improvements.
Richard Samuda – Trust Chairman
Richard presents his annual personal Care
Integrator award to Primary Care Liaison
Manager, Dottie Tipton