Heartbeat March 2020

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Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a CT scanner IMAGING This month the imaging team at City Hospital played host to an army of high-vis clad engineers from Siemens Healthineers who delivered the newest addition to the imaging department at the Birmingham Treatment Centre (BTC), the new computerised tomography (CT) scanner. Amongst the beeping fanfare of a crane, engineers carefully peeled away the side wall of the BTC, constructed a reinforced platform and gently lifted, manoeuvred and landed the huge scanner onto the first floor to then be delicately pushed to its new home in the imaging department. CT scanners are innovative scanners that create cross sectional images of the body by rotating an x-ray machine round the body and then use a computer to reconstruct the multiple images into a single three-dimensional image that lets doctors look inside the body. Commonly, CT scanners diagnose infections, fractures and muscle disorders, as well as helping to pinpoint masses and tumours. They are sometimes even used to help guide surgical procedures and biopsies. To find out more about the scanner, Heartbeat caught up with Phil Spencer, Superintendent Radiographer and CT Lead at our Trust. He said, “The newest scanner we have had delivered is now the fifth CT scanner we have at our disposal. We have two at Sandwell and three at City. This gives us plenty of resources offer imaging support at short notice, as well as resilience, should one of the scanners need to be repaired.” The newest addition to the imaging team’s arsenal Trust bowel-ed over by national cancer audit results The National Bowel Cancer Audit publishes results about the care and outcomes of patients with bowel cancer in England and Wales. Commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership as part of the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme, this quality improvement programme has been running for several years. It is delivered jointly by the Clinical Effectiveness Unit at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, NHS Digital, and the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland. Each year, a report is produced for trusts in England and multidisciplinary teams in Wales. Our most recent results published for 2017-2018 show that we included more patients than expected and we performed positively in several areas. Mr Torrance, Colorectal Consultant remarked, “Our data collection is significantly better than it has been in the past and that has allowed us to share that we are performing above average compared to our local peers and nationally in most measures. We stood out in the rate of major surgery performed in potentially curative patients. Whilst the national score was 86 per cent, we scored 92 per cent – 6 per cent above the national average. We also perform significantly more cases through keyhole surgery compared to the rest of the country, with 89 per cent attempted through keyhole surgery compared to 69 per cent nationally. When we combined this with our enhanced recovery programme supported by our anaesthetic colleagues, ward staff and clinical nurse specialist team, we have helped nearly half of patients go home within 5 days of major surgery compared to the national average of just over a third of patients.” When discussing how we’ve achieved these results, Dr Torrance commented, “We have invested in our data and wanted to show just how well we’re performing as a Trust. We now have a dedicated person responsible for managing our data. Tahira Sani from our cancer services team has done a great job at collating all of our data and allowing us to show just how well we’re performing, both regionally and nationally.” Speaking to Heartbeat, Tahira commented, “I have taken on the task of compiling our clinical data. This involves collating data from lots of different sources including systems and meeting notes. I was pleased to see how well we performed as a Trust in comparison to others locally and nationally.” 28
This month we say hello to Liam Kennedy. As you’ll likely know, Liam isn’t new to our Trust; however, he has recently moved from being our deputy chief operating officer to become our chief operating officer (COO). Having started his career as a science teacher, Liam joined the NHS nine years ago as part of the NHS graduate management training scheme. Reflecting on his decision to join this scheme, Liam remarked, “This was a defining career moment for me. I developed the skills to help me lead different functions and teams across several trusts. I have worked in project management, accounting and transformation positions, as well as a group manager in medicine, surgery and community services.” Liam completed a six-month placement with Monitor; a regulatory body that was responsible for ensuring healthcare provision in NHS England was financially effective. As well as this, he has completed a management accounting qualification via the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and a PgCert in healthcare leadership and management. Liam Kennedy, Chief Operating Officer You may be surprised to learn that Liam has not always worked in healthcare. Before joining the NHS, Liam had a varied career. Aside from being a teacher, he also worked as a celebrity account manager and revealed that Peter Andre was the most famous person he ever booked for an event. Looking to the future as our COO, Liam has Liam Kennedy Chief Operating Officer some key areas of interest he’ll be focusing on. “Digital implementation into the NHS is a passion of mine. So far, I’ve worked across the Unity project and introduced digital dictation. I’ll be working closely with teams to ensure we’re giving our clinical colleagues the tools they need to deliver the best patient care. Digital transformation will help us offer a more efficient and patientfocused service. “I’ll be looking at improving our urgent care standards and working with all directorates to ensure they have the data, skills and resources to deliver service improvements. As well as this, I’m keen to look at preventative measures to ensure we’re having early interactions with patients. We have lots of resources available to help them lead healthier lives.” Outside of work Liam enjoys keeping fit. This year he had planned an Ironman triathlon in Copenhagen that involves swimming, running and doing a bike ride all in support of Your Trust Charity. Excited about taking on the challenge, he said, “It’s going to be a test of endurance. I’ve started my training and go swimming before work. I’m looking forward to doing something that will directly give back to our Trust.” Wave goodbye to… Lis Hesk Matron – gynaecology and gynae oncology This month we bid adieu to Lis Hesk, Matron in gynaecology and gynae oncology. Having started her career in 1982 in Leicester, Lis has had a long and varied career in nursing. In 1988, she completed her midwifery training at Queen Charlotte’s Hospital in London and has never looked back. Speaking to Heartbeat about her career, she said, “I have always been a nurse, I cannot imagine doing anything else. I started my training in 1982 before most of my staff were born! I have always worked in women’s health – it’s an area I feel incredibly passionate about.” Lis joined our Trust in 2012 as matron of gynaecology and gynae oncology. Over the years she’s had a number of career highlights including the implementation of Unity. Looking back on it she said, “This was a massive project that affected each member of the team. We had fantastic support within gynaecology; the team really Lis Hesk embraced the electronic patient record and it has had such a positive impact on the care we deliver.” Danielle Joseph, Deputy Group Director of Operations commented, “Lis is an exceptional nurse and leader. I’ve worked with her for some time now and have a huge amount of respect for her. Lis is caring and patient focused - something you need to be within gynae and gynae oncology. She is most definitely a team player, collaborative and always up for a challenge. Lis has been a pleasure to work with and we are all going to miss her greatly.” Looking ahead to the future Lis is planning on spending time with her family and friends. “I’ve not taken a day off sick since 1989 - I’ve never wanted to let my colleagues down. I will definitely enjoy some quality time with my loved ones when I retire.” Thank you for your hard work and dedication, Lis. 29
Page 1 and 2: March 2020 Sandwell and West Birmin
Page 3 and 4: Our Trust’s plan to manage the pa
Page 5 and 6: Managing your health and wellbeing
Page 7 and 8: It’s not all about hospitals: Rea
Page 9 and 10: Supporting colleagues - swabbing fo
Page 11 and 12: Celebrating our stars of the week S
Page 13 and 14: GEMS - our valuable pieces of learn
Page 15 and 16: Milestone merger becomes reality as
Page 17 and 18: Mental health act administrator joi
Page 19 and 20: Year of the Nurse and Midwife Each
Page 21 and 22: Conference shares methods to improv
Page 23 and 24: Poo is no longer a taboo thanks to
Page 25 and 26: Inside the mortuary - taking care o
Page 27: Safer Sleep Week to help prevent un
Page 31 and 32: Toby writes about… management by

Heartbeat March 2020

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