Heartbeat July 2020

July 2020
Sandwell and West Birmingham
NHS Trust
The pulse of community health, Leasowes, Rowley Regis, City Hospital, Sandwell General and the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital
Issue 130
Our big thank you
Pages 4-6
On 5 July we celebrated the NHS' 72nd birthday. To pay tribute we planted rainbow coloured plants and lit up our main sites in
blue to say thank you to our local communities and businesses who have provided invaluable support to our Trust.
Dad's 58-day
battle with
COVID-19
Page 3
Flu-per Troopers -
fighting flu together
this winter
Page 8
Why Weight?
Wellbeing focus on
improving health
Page 8
Midland Met
on the horizon
Pages 15, 16,
17 and 18

FROM THE CHAIR
HELLO
Welcome to Heartbeat. As you
sit back and relax to read this
month’s edition we do hope
you’re managing to take some
time out to recharge over the
summer.
You will find stories of bravery,
recovery and compassion in your
July edition of Heartbeat. Discover
how one of our junior doctors has
written a children’s book, meet our
Empowerment Award winners and
find out how the nursery team are
making a commotion in the ocean.
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
Kindness and compassion must
remain at the centre of what we do
I am greatly looking forward to August
when I will meet with representatives
from the groups and the staff networks
to select our shortlist from the huge
number of nominations received for
our annual Star Awards. This year was
our biggest year ever for nominations
which is perhaps no surprise. Thank
you to the 700 of you who took the
time to enter a team or colleague
for one of our prestigious awards.
People who have stood out during
the COVID-19 pandemic will no doubt
feature heavily in our shortlist but we
will not forget all of the great work
that has been done for patients and
families throughout the rest of the year.
Next month is the opportunity for you
to cast your votes for four of our big
awards – Clinical Team of the Year for
Adults, Clinical Team of the Year for
Children, Non-Clinical Team of the Year
and the esteemed Employee of the Year
Award.
As we work through our restoration and
recovery plans I want to thank you for
your continued dedication to our patients
and to each other. This year has certainly
taken its toll and I am so impressed with
the kindness and compassion that you have
shown during this time. As we prepare for
a second surge and put our plans in place
for this winter I know that many of you
will feel anxiety and trepidation. Our Trust
Board is committed to supporting you all
through the next few months, continuing
with the wellbeing support and enhanced
mental health offer that has been put in
place. Please take the time to make use of
these resources. We are also committed
to ensuring that the learnings from the
pandemic are taken forward. We know that
some ways of working have changed for
the better, enabling patients to have more
convenient access to services. Our task is to
embrace and embed the improvements we
have managed to deliver.
Social distancing and handwashing remains
vital in our fight to contain the virus so
thank you for continuing to reinforce this
message to your friends and family as well
as to the patients you see and treat. We
continue to take a cautious and considered
approach to easing restrictions on our
sites such as visiting arrangements and
re-introducing volunteers on our wards. We
hope to begin to restore some of this in
coming weeks. As the country opens up it is
more important than ever to stay safe and
protected and set a good example to those
around us.
Richard Samuda, Trust Chairman
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communications team
Ext 5303
swbh.comms@nhs.net
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Chairman, Richard Samuda

Dad reveals 58-day battle with
deadly virus in hospital
COVID-19
Jonathan with wife Maria Yague and their children (far left) Nathan Marty Yague, aged 20
and (far right) Seth Kenny Yague, aged 11
A dad-of-two has thanked colleagues
at Sandwell Hospital for saving his
life after he battled coronavirus for 58
days. The family of Jonathan Yague
described his recovery as a “miracle”, as
he was finally discharged on 2 June.
He said: “I am so grateful for the care
and the quick-thinking of staff working
at Sandwell Hospital. Their actions most
definitely saved my life. They assessed that
I needed ventilation as my condition was
rapidly deteriorating and then liaised with
staff at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester to
ensure I was transferred there quickly and
safely.
“The last thing I remember is being
intubated at Sandwell Hospital on 6 April.
I was put into an induced coma and finally
woke up on 18 May. I asked the nurse what
date it was and when she told me, the
realisation of what had happened kicked in.
I just cried. My wife Maria has been filling in
the gaps for me about what happened, but
I remember how I was unable to breathe.”
The 48-year-old was put on a ventilator in
critical care after he was assessed in our
emergency department and then in the
acute medicine unit. Jonathan, whose wife
Maria works as a sister in imaging, quickly
deteriorated despite having no underlying
conditions.
Seven days later he was transferred to
Glenfield Hospital, where some of the
sickest coronavirus patients are treated
using a specialist Extra Corporeal Membrane
Oxygenation (ECMO) machine.
“I prayed day and night that he would get
better,” Maria recalled. “At the same time I
also had coronavirus and our eldest son was
suffering with symptoms, although he tested
negative. We weren’t hospitalised, but it was
just a horrendous situation.”
Within a month, in what Maria describes as
a miracle, Jonathan’s condition started to
improve. He was transferred back to Sandwell
Hospital’s critical care unit where he
continued to recover.
Jonathan was finally moved out of
critical care on 23 May and recovered on
two wards, Priory 5 and Lyndon 5, until
he was discharged. He added: “I am so
glad to be home, but I am still recovering
and trying to regain my strength. I am
learning to walk again as I lost a lot of
muscle mass. I am still short of breath,
but I am getting better.
“I am forever indebted to those who
have cared for me throughout this
terrible ordeal and would also like
to thank all my family, friends, and
colleagues at work and those who had
supported my family during this difficult
time. They all prayed non-stop for my
recovery. Maria would also like to thank
her colleagues within Imaging for their
support.”
Jonathan has a warning for those people
considering breaking social distancing
rules: “I’ve suffered terribly. I had multiorgan
failure, and was bleeding through
my mouth and nose - I was close to
death. When I see people ignoring social
distancing measures it makes me cringe
– I can’t believe the photographs I’ve
seen of crowded beaches.
“I fear there will be a second wave
which will be much worse than what
we have experienced so far. People need
to think about what they are doing and
maintain social distancing. Whether
that’s when they are visiting their local
supermarket, going to a park or even
popping out to see a relative. I hope that
my story will make people think about
what they are doing to protect others
from this virus. I am just thankful to be
alive and be with my precious family.”
Dr Nick Sherwood, Joint Clinical Lead,
Critical Care Services, cared for Jonathan
during his time at Sandwell Hospital.
He said: “I'm overjoyed that Jonathan is
back home with his family. His journey
was particularly long and difficult but it
is patients like Jonathan who really lift
the spirits of the whole ICU team when
we know they've gone home. However,
I also share his concerns about a second
wave. COVID-19 is not beaten. It has
not gone away. If we follow the advice
about social distancing and hygiene we
can significantly reduce the risk of other
people ending up as sick as Jonathan.”
3

SLT bridge the gap between patients
and families
COVID-19
Our speech and language therapy
team (SLT) recently introduced the
card care project allowing patients to
be able to better communicate with
their loved ones.
The project which started shortly after the
COVID-19 outbreak has given patients
on our stroke ward the opportunity to
communicate with their friends and
families by sending them cards they have
created on the ward themselves.
“Many of our patients who are based on
the stroke and neurology rehabilitation
ward have either aphasia (language
difficulty) or dysarthria (speech difficulty).
This can make using technology such as
Facetime very challenging,” said Claudia
Forrest, Specialist Speech and Language
Therapist. “Knowing this, we knew we
had to come up with a more creative and
innovative way in which patients could
still effectively communicate with the
people who mean the most to them.”
After much deliberation, Lyne Wright,
Advanced Speech and Language
Keith Dickson is a patient on Newton 4
Ward at Sandwell who has benefited from
the project
Therapist came up with the card care concept.
It enables patients who struggle with using
gadgets to communicate to make cards to
send back home. Patients can take their time
and create what they want without feeling
rushed whilst at the same time engaging in
something positive to boost their wellbeing
whilst in hospital.
Though initially there were difficulties
helping patients make cards in PPE, after
careful planning and considerations in
regards to resources and entering COVID-19
red areas, the SLT team were able to get
past this.
Lyne believes making the cards has
benefited patients, their friends and families
massively. She said: “Since starting the
card care project our patients have been
motivated to engage in card making which
has given them a safe space to talk about
their feelings and families during these
difficult times.”
She added: “The feedback from families has
been very positive too. They have been very
happy to receive the cards and are pleased
to learn that their family members are
engaged in therapeutic tasks.”
Nicole Boden, Speech and Language
Therapy Assistant, thinks the card care
project has also improved patient care.
She told us: “The card making has allowed
those working on Newton 4 to learn a lot
more about our patients. It also means
we can better empathise with them and
improve their quality of care and experience
at the Trust.”
Care homes get refreshing delivery
One of the particular hot topics in
the media during the coronavirus
pandemic has been the treatment
of care homes. With the virus being
of particular danger to the more
elderly, care homes have come into
focus as a battleground in the war
against COVID-19. They have become
a social and political talking point at
a time when Public Health England
(PHE) was also looking to promote
carers within the community.
For our organisation, the relationship
between our hospital sites and the care
homes within our region is an important
one as we fight the disease. As part of
that, the Trust has been offering support
not just of vital Personal Protective
Equipment (PPE), which it has been
supplying in various ‘runs’ throughout the
pandemic but a number of other supplies
too at the same time.
Thanks to the generosity of the public
Andy Churm helps to distribute goodies to
care homes
and companies in the local area, something
that the Trust spotlighted across social media
during the NHS’s 72nd birthday celebrations,
part of the food and drink donated to the
Trust has been redistributed as a ‘pick me up’
for both colleagues and patients who may
be struggling with the difficulties that social
distancing brings.
“That we’re able to do this and share our
donations with those in the community that
need it is great,” said Amanda Winwood of
Your Trust Charity. “We know that there’s
vital work being done out there and a
difficult situation is being faced. By sending
some additional supplies along with the
PPE shows that not only are we thinking of
those patients in the care homes, but of our
colleagues there as well. Andy Churm and
his team will be delivering this load and more
in the days ahead that will help bring a little
ray of sunshine to the day of so many.”
“It’s great that we’re able to pick up all these
items for our care home and nursing home
colleagues and deliver them at the same
time as the PPE the Trust is supplying,” Andy
Churm told Heartbeat as he helped to load
up the transport. “They’ve both had a really
tough time with COVID-19 and whenever
we do these drops they’re really appreciative
of them and the donations that have been
made.”
4

Lockdown through the eyes of
frontline medics
COVID-19
BBC presenter Mary Rhodes presented
Midlands Today from the lawn of City
Hospital
Our frontline medics were the focus in a
live broadcast of the popular news show
BBC Midlands Today to mark 100 days
of lockdown. Filmed at City Hospital, the
show’s host Mary Rhodes delivered the
30 minute broadcast from the lawn at
the front of the emergency department,
speaking to Dr Sarb Clare, Acute
Medicine Consultant, and Deputy Medical
Director about her experiences.
Dr Clare spoke in-depth about how she, along
with colleagues, had been coping throughout
the pandemic and the importance of patients
accessing care. This is particularly important
right now as we were keen to stress that
patients can visit the hospital safely knowing
that they are protected from the transmission
of the virus. We have implemented a number
of safety measures to ensure public safety
is not compromised. This news story was a
good way to get this message across to many
within our region.
The pandemic saw our workplace
overwhelmed by kindness and
support from the local community and
businesses.
As members of the public panicked and
started to do more shopping than they
would normally, the shops ran dry; meaning
colleagues who were working long hours
to fight COVID-19 were unable to find
essentials in their local supermarkets.
To save the day, in stepped local communities
and businesses who donated a whole range
of essential products to colleagues. Amanda
Winwood, Fundraising Manager, Your Trust
Charity was at the forefront, arranging and
co-ordinating deliveries.
She said: “It was truly amazing how
everyone came together to help our staff.
The donations we received were valued at
over £300,000 which is unprecedented.
“I would like to thank all the community
groups and businesses who came forward.
I would particularly like to call out Sewa
Dr Lorna Bagshaw, Consultant
Paediatrician, is filmed by the BBC
Afterwards, pre-recorded interviews with Dr
Clare, Dr Nick Sherwood, Joint Clinical Lead for
Critical Care Services and Mel Roberts, Deputy
Chief Operating Officer were shown.
They spoke about their own experiences of
dealing with the virus. Dr Sherwood recalled:
“This has been the hardest three months of
my life. Having played a major part in the flu
pandemic, we felt it was going to be a bit
like that, but it wasn’t. It was a much harder
challenge than influenza.”
And he warned: “This is not over, it’s easy to
think that coronavirus is done, it’s cured, but it
isn’t. It’s still there and there is a real chance it
could come back. We need to make sure that
we prevent a second surge by social distancing
and being sensible because I don’t want to go
through what I’ve been through in the last few
months.”
Dr Clare told the BBC: “For me, I’ll always
remember the fear in everyone’s eyes; the
patients’ eyes, colleagues’ eyes. There was real
Community and businesses thanked
as donations come to an end
Day Community Group who provided snacks
and drinks for wellbeing packs, Prestige Suite
who provided chilled meals and fresh fruit for
colleagues working out of hours, NewG420
for donating £25k of toiletries and cleaning
products, Gaijin Sushi for supplying 300 meals
for four weeks, Meals for NHS for supplying
out of hours frozen meals for ten weeks and
Work Perks for linking with businesses and
supplying drinks and snacks.
As lockdown has eased and we've started to
get back to some normality we have stopped
accepting donations. We recognise that there
are those in greater need in our communities
who are experiencing job losses and financial
hardship.
upheaval, lots of change, lots of rapid
change. Upskilling ourselves in a condition
we knew nothing about and learning
about a new disease that we’d never dealt
with.” Whilst Mel added: “The teamwork
and the support we’ve offered one
another is probably the one thing that I
will take away from this.”
Earlier in the day, a TV crew had spent
time talking to staff and patients, including
Fred Hadley, who had come into the
hospital to undergo a heart procedure
by Dr Shamim Rahman. The consultant
and registrar Dr George Hunter were able
to successfully unblock an artery using
specialist equipment.
Fred told the presenter: “I am here to have
a very important procedure done. I am not
put off by the pandemic as this is essential.
I would urge other patients who have
appointments to make sure they attend.”
Fred was discharged later that day.
Meanwhile, Consultant Paediatrician
Lorna Bagshaw, along with Staff Nurse
Zoe Crookes were both interviewed in
the new Children’s Emergency Care Unit,
showcasing the new facility to viewers,
following a £1.2 million refurbishment.
The support was truly overwhelming
and we are now working on plans to
permanently commemorate all the groups
that stepped in to help us."
Communities and businesses donated a range of essential products to our colleagues
5

Sandwell Council COVID-19 outbreak
plan wins national praise
COVID-19
Sandwell Council’s COVID-19
outbreak plan has been highlighted
as a model of best practice by
Department of Health officials.
The plan, created by the borough’s
public health team in response to a
government instruction to all councils,
has been published and the government
is pointing other organisations to the
Sandwell plan to help with their own
outbreak contingency arrangements.
It sets out detailed plans which will be
immediately activated in case of further
virus outbreaks and includes an online
video summary.
Sandwell’s Director of Public Health,
Dr Lisa McNally said she submitted the
plan to the Department of Health &
Social Care (DHSC) and the feedback
has been very positive. “The local DHSC
coordinator has put it forward to the
national team as an example of good
practice.”
She added: “Our outbreak plan brings
together everything we do into one
place – and will be something we keep
adding to. The latest version will always
be available on the council’s website
along with a short video summary
and other resources to help people
understand more about what we do.
“Our main aim is to be ready for
whatever this pandemic throws at us
next. We don’t know whether the
‘second wave’ will just be a modest
increase in cases or something much
bigger that will once again threaten
health and social care service capacity.
Either way, we’ll make sure that we do
everything possible to protect our local
community.”
The plan sets out in detail how the
public health team, in collaboration with
other local and regional organisations,
are responding to the challenge of
COVID-19 outbreaks. It includes
information on how outbreaks are
managed in schools, care homes and
workplaces by a seven-day-a-week
outbreak response team. There are
explanations about how testing and
contract tracing is managed and how
to protect the needs of those most
vulnerable to COVID-19.
To date, Sandwell has had 1,090
confirmed cases which, for purposes of
comparison with other areas, is a rate of
332.9 per 100k population.
Dr Lisa McNally - Director of Public Health for Sandwell
In the ‘league table’ of case rates, this puts
Sandwell 51st highest nationally and third
highest out of the four Black Country local
authorities.
Dr McNally said there was currently a factory
outbreak where a multi-agency team was
working with the company to manage the
situation and conduct testing across the
workforce.
Two schools have also had positive cases
since they reopened. In both cases, the school
benefited from having excellent infection
control procedures in place, including good
maintenance of ‘bubbles’, which meant that
only a small number of children were exposed
and minimal disruption to the school.
She said: “School staff have done an
awesome job in working with us to get these
measures in place. I must have done over 30
risk assessments with headteachers myself
– so I know first-hand how hard they’ve
worked.
She added: “We continue to see a few cases
in care homes – but it’s greatly reduced, as
thankfully are the number of deaths in care
homes from COVID-19. Overall, across the
pandemic, we have seen a lower death rate in
Sandwell’s care homes than in other areas.
Again, that’s thanks to continuous efforts of
care home staff to work with us in making
care homes as safe as possible. The PPE
supply is now good.”
Sandwell's COVID-19 outbreak plan has
received national recognition
6

The patient’s Unity – coming to a
smartphone near you
The days of patients frantically trying
to find their paper based test results,
appointment dates and clinical advice
will soon be over as we move Unity –
our electronic patient record on to its
next stage and begin offering a brand
new patient portal.
Unity launched in September 2019 and
moved our Trust forward in leaps and
bounds in terms of moving all of our
patient records away from the confusing
assortment of third party systems and on to
one single unified record which we refer to
as Unity.
However in the months following our move
to Unity, it quickly became evident that
although clinical colleagues had taken a big
digital step forwards, our patients had not
– until now.
In the coming months, a brand new patient
portal will be rolling out across our Trust
which will transform how patients access
their own clinical records and interact with
their care teams. A range of documents
and test results will be available for patients
to view. They will also have the ability to
communicate with their care team and can
complete pre and post appointment forms
and questionnaires via secure messaging.
Unity for patients
All this can be done at any time using any
device, whether it be a laptop, desktop or
mobile phone.
Leading on the rollout of the new patient
portal Martin Chadderton said: “We have
a legal obligation to allow patients to see
their own records but this isn’t the only
reason why we’re pushing forward with this.
We know that patients who are kept up
to date with their own care plans are more
able, knowledgeable and prepared when
they need help. These systems empower
patients to truly take control of managing
their health, to engage with their care teams
and, at the click of a button, be able to see
their latest information all in one place. The
Unity optimisation begins to
take shape
new system will enable patients to see
their consultation letters, test results and
complete pre and post appointment forms
and questionnaires – potentially saving
lots of in-clinic time and allowing for a
more focused consultation.”
The new system will begin rolling out
in October 2020 and will make its way
across our Trust in a phased approach
with colleagues in surgery and primary
care, community and therapies being the
first to take advantage of the system.
If you would like to find out
more about the new system,
contact Joe Cridge on email:
joseph.cridge@nhs.net.
Unity launched in September to great
fanfare, a major leap in our workflow
supporting colleagues to better
manage patient records – all from the
comfort of one single system. Since the
launch, there has been a lot of talk of
‘optimisation’, however this month the
talk begins to turn in to actions as we
launch two significant projects to move
Unity in to the next phase.
Unity has successfully been supporting our
Trust since September 2019, with outages
few and far between, behind the scenes
our supplier ‘Cerner’ have been hard at
work improving the system to offer better
performance, improved user interfaces
and a better structure supporting future
development. We are now working to
upgrade our system at overnight on the 26
August to take advantage of the improved
code.
Sharing his thoughts on the upgrade, Chief
Clinical Information Officer and Consultant
Ophthalmologist, Ash Sharma said,
“Everything that is changing is under the
hood, none of the processes or practices you
have learnt will be changing, and the system
itself at first glance will look almost completely
the same. However, much of the underlying
code that manages Unity will be updated
to take advantage of improved processes
delivering a much slicker, stable and most
importantly safer experience for patients and
staff.”
The upgrade will take place overnight and
will be one of the few updates that require
elements of Unity to be taken offline for a
short period. Details of the affected systems
and schedule of upgrade will be shared
through staff communications.
Also this month, we see the relaunch of the
Unity Go Paper-less project which is focussed
on moving the remaining clinical forms and
records which are still recorded on paper
over to a digital solution. Colleagues are
being encouraged to come forward and
share their processes and forms with their
group representatives. With the aim of
declaring any remaining paper clinical
documents by Monday 10 August.
To find out more about the Unity Go
Paper-less project, contact Essie Li via
Essie.li@nhs.net.
7

Flu-per Troopers - fighting flu
together this winter
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
Dust off your flares, pull on your
platforms and grab your glittery
glad rags - this year we are going
all out with an ABBA inspired flu
campaign.
We’ll be adding a little sparkle to our
step as we all pull together to tackle the
flu. 2020 has been far from a normal
year and that's why we’re getting our
‘Flu-per Troopers’ ready now, so that
before winter sets in, we know we’re
prepared.
COVID-19 caught the world off guard
but we know the flu is coming, it’s
preventable and we already have a welltested
quadrivalent vaccination that will
be on offer.
This year, we’ll be taking a different
approach to how we administer the
flu vaccine. We will have our very own
Flu-per Troopers representing areas
right across our Trust. We’re going local
and getting personal as we prepare to
protect colleagues from the flu.
Flu-per Troopers coming to a site near you
Bethan Downing, Deputy Director of People
and OD, said: “Last year, we managed to once
again surpass our 80 per cent herd immunity
target but it did take quite a while to get
there and when potentially deadly and highly
contagious viruses are involved, time is of the
essence. It’s important to be protected early,
to give your body time to build up its defences
and to generate some antibodies. It can take
up to two weeks from the time you get the
jab until your body is fighting fit with enough
antibodies to take on the virus.
The potential still remains for a second surge
in COVID-19 cases, combined with seasonal
flu; this could be the perfect storm. Please
don’t leave it until you start seeing patients
and members of the public with the flu, by
then it might be too late.”
From October we’ll be out and about, with
clinics in full flow and we‘re hoping that by
Christmas, everyone will have said ‘gimme,
gimme, gimme the flu jab’. We're not going
to let a preventable infection take hold of
our colleagues. Together, we’re stronger.”
If you would like to support the campaign
and join the Flu-per Troopers by hosting
your own vaccination clinics get in touch
with Bethan Downing via email at
bethan.downing1@nhs.net.
Why weight? Get started now
Wellbeing
Colleagues across our organisation
are being urged to put their health
and wellbeing first, and think about
how they can make a difference
to their mental wellbeing, physical
health and nutrition.
An ambition within the Trust’s public
health plan, primary care plan, and
featuring in both integrated care plans,
is to tackle the rising incidence of obesity
by implementing a wellbeing strategy to
support improved wellbeing among our
workforce, patients and communities
(with a focus on children).
Beginning with our workforce, we will
be launching the healthy weight element
of our wellbeing programme on Friday
14 August. The programme will see a
menu of options to support colleagues
with health and wellbeing, including
mental wellbeing, physical health
(activity and exercise) and nutrition (food and
drink).
Heartbeat caught up with Johnny Shah, Head
of Your Trust Charity who is also leading the
healthy weight element of our wellbeing
strategy.
He told us: “We aim to ensure that this
campaign fits with the Trust’s wider wellbeing
activities and is a core part of our support to
colleagues following the first surge of the
pandemic.
“We recognise that the impact of COVID-19
can be long-lasting, and we need to ensure
that our wellbeing activities are aligned and
reflect the needs of colleagues both now and
into the future. These include the ongoing
promotion of our Thrive mental wellbeing
app, Recharge Booth, and our Wellbeing
Sanctuary.”
During COVID-19, the occupational health
team have tested a more diverse wellbeing
model using supportive conversations as
therapeutic interventions and the feedback
from colleagues has been good.
“The plan for supportive wellbeing
interventions moving forwards is one of
enabling employees to access preventative
and lower-level support to learn more
about, and take responsibility for managing
their health and wellbeing,” added Johnny.
“There will be three wellbeing coaches who
will have wellbeing supportive conversations
with colleagues on a range of wellbeing
subjects. The coaches will provide support
to the obesity strategy by engaging with
individuals within the organisation on a
personal level, ensuring there are individual
plans in place and that they are supported
over weeks and months to change
behaviours, but also to be supported if
any other wellbeing concerns arise from
addressing issues related to weight.”
Look out for more details about the
launch via the daily communications
bulletin.
8

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.
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
To – Nicola Plunkett
Nicola helped me sort out a referral for an
MRI scan for a GP practice that was urgent.
The patient is very happy they are getting
the scan this evening. Nicola certainly went
the extra mile
From – Dottie Tipton
To – Connective Palliative HUB and OOH
DN Sandwell Hospital
I've recently redeployed with this team and
work jointly with OOH District Nursing,
the staff here are very caring towards
the patients, families and work very hard
to achieve the best outcomes for the
patients. End of Life care can be very scary
time for some but the high-quality-care,
professionalism and compassion provided
by the staff is highly appreciated by the
patients and their families. I've been made
to feel very welcome here and given lots of
support to settle in. Thank you all esp. Jo
Clews who helped me during my very first
night shift here.
From – Gurjit Kaur
To – Eleanor Boulton
On her night off work helping out
colleagues to sort out an IT issue and
always being extremely helpful on AMU at
City. Thank you!
From – Levi O'Gorman
To – Dermatology team working between
Westbourne road and City Hospital (skin
OPD). SR J Morgan, Senior Staff Nurse L
Duquesnay, Staff Nurse L Macarulay, Senior
HCA M Kane and HCA, C Downer
These colleagues have been travelling back
and forward to Westbourne centre and
skin department, coming to work early
and going home late to fulfil their duties
without hesitation. They have done their
duties very well and have adapted in this
new environment to provide care to the
patients. Compliment to Mr Salahuddin,
Dr D Thompson, Dr M Thomson and Dr A
Rajasekaran and also Ann Rutland for job
well done.
From – Judith Morgan
To – Dr Amy Hough
Professional empathetic and thorough well
documented end of life care for a patient
with no family. Discussion of prognosis,
end of life decision and care with clear
very appropriate timely assessment of
mental capacity was excellent. Also very
appropriate timely specialist palliative
care referral and she went the extra mile
to sit with patient as he was dying. She
also called his one requested contact
community pharmacist before and after
death. Also her clear careful timed
documentation. Very well done Amy.
From – Carol Cobb
To – Lyndon 1 team
Diabetic team have received feedback from
a parent of a child recently admitted to
Lyndon one. Grateful for all support she
received from all staff during her recent
stay, during stressful time, full praise for
the team well done.
From – Kathryn Henley
To – Rowley Regis Hospital Wards ET,
Henderson and McCarthy nurses, therpaist,
GP's and facilities staff
Thank you for continuing to provide
excellent patient care and for continually
smiling and keeping each other going,
there is a real atmosphere of camaraderie
on all of the wards at Rowley amongst the
whole MDT, nurses, GPs, therapists and
facilities staff taking time out to look out
for each other, bake for each other and
generally just being a great team, thank
you.
From – Justine Irish
To – Pop up shop at Sandwell
For supplying us with essentials through
the pandemic. The shop is well stocked
staff are friendly let’s hope it carries on
after COVID-19.
From – Allison Annikey
To – Theatres
For helping out in critical care during these
difficult times.
From – Brid Corley
To – Elizabeth Clarson
Liz was redeployed to Lyndon 4. I really
appreciate her hardwork and teamwork.
She is a credit to the Trust.
From – Paul Quibell-Smith
To – Mary Chan, Mary Mumford, Leanne
Taylor, Kaye Woodhouse
Just want to say a massive thank you to
you lovely ladies after I was taken ill in the
outpatients department on 5 June 2020. I
can't thank you enough for all your care
and compassion at the very frightening
time and getting the emergency team to
me so quickly.
From – Liz Worwood
To – Domestics
MASSIVE SHOUT OUT TO OUR DOMESTIC
TEAM! NO complaints or grumbles from
them when having to deep clean whole
bays once empty, they are so thorough
with their work and ensure the bays are
perfect for the next patients. Even wiping
down walls! Massive thank you from all on
AMUA :)
From – Yasmin Akanji
To – Amanda Winwood and the shop team
The pop up shop is amazing. It's been
a lifesaver for popping in and getting
essential items especially after a night shift!
All the volunteers in there are so friendly
and helpful and you always get a free little
treat which cheers up your day!
From – Rhea Conn
To – BCSP Team, Endoscopy Team, Nurse
Endoscopist, Gastro CNS
A big thank you to you all for supporting
CCS and the wards. Your help and support
during the pandemic has been appreciated
by all the areas.
From – Sangeeta Pal
To – Hannah Griffiths
Big shout out to Hannah Griffiths School
Health Nurse. Hannah has worked really
hard to ensure that the needs of a young
person in her care were safeguarded this
week. She has really listened to the young
person and gained trust. She has liaised
with other professionals and acted as an
advocate. A fantastic example of School
Nursing making a difference.
From – Joanne Toovey
9

Celebrating our
stars of the week
Star of the Week
Alison Rose
Nurse
Alison goes above and beyond for
AMU and its patients.
AMU has recently due to the pandemic
been identified to provide CPAP to
COVID-19 patients. This required an
immense amount of training and Alison
offered to do this for us. She embarked on
the training programme with enthusiasm
and the whole of AMU were sufficiently
trained in theory to deliver the service
with two weeks. Alison consistently shows
commitment to AMU A.
Star of the Week
Sharon Roberts
Patient Access Clerk
Star of the Week
Reena Patel, Staff Nurse
Nominating Reena for the award, Clinical
Education Sister, Hayley Griffiths wrote,
“A nursing colleague I trained with 15
years ago contacted me last week to say
her mom had been a patient on Lyndon 4
for the last five weeks. Her mom had her
mobile phone but wasn’t able to facetime
her daughter who lives in Sydney Australia.
With the current outbreak I was unable to
go to Lyndon 4 but I contacted Staff Nurse,
Reena Patel who agreed she would help.
Reena took the reins and in no time at all
had shown mom videos of well wishes
from her daughter and grandchildren.
Reena has also managed to setup video
calling so they can get in touch with each
other whenever they want to. Reena truly
went the extra mile in helping this family
stay in touch at a very difficult time.”
During the height of the pandemic
Sharon tirelessly contacted patients
to reassure them they had not been
forgotten and to let them know we
would be in contact when services start
up again.
To some patients this was not just a
courtesy call; but a call that gave the
patient some time just to have a chat with
someone after facing weeks of no contact
with anyone at all.
Star of the Week
Paulette Parkes, Ward Clerk
Paulette has supported both D43 and
D47 teams as a ward clerk over the past
month, as the D43 ward clerk is currently
shielding at home. She has gone above
and beyond her role, by working outside
of her contracted hours, coming in to
support teams over the weekend and
staying late.
She has supported colleagues, patients,
relatives during this pandemic – she has
gone the extra mile to contact relatives via
telephone to give them updates on their
relatives care and progress.
Paulette has ensured colleagues have the
correct PPE they require and supported the
senior sisters with the swabbing of staff.
Paulette is a highly valued member to
the team over in Sheldon, she is caring,
has demonstrated great kindness and we
appreciate all that she does, she is amazing.
If you have someone in your team that has gone above and beyond the call of duty, put them
forward as a Star of the Week. Visit Connect to find out more.
10

Trust shines a light for 72nd NHS
anniversary
Marking 72 years of a health service
free at the point of need, this year
celebrations were by necessity a more
subdued affair, with the Trust choosing
to remember the sacrifices of our local
communities, the stalwart efforts of
staff and the kindness of all keyworkers
in the fight against COVID-19. Our
#SWBshinealight campaign saw us
training beacons of blue light across
our four main Trust locations for
the first few hours of darkness each
evening for almost a week. Starting on
our anniversary on Sunday 5 July, we
provided a focus for reflection of the
almost 400 lives lost across our Trust
during the pandemic.
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
We also encouraged colleagues to
support the initiative by lighting a
lamp or lantern in their window and
sharing the photo on social media.
Trust Director of Communications Ruth
Wilkin explained: “This year we wanted
to mark our anniversary in a way most
appropriate to current times, and so we
focussed on kindness, as that is what we
have consistently experienced from our
community throughout the challenging
months of lockdown.
“Our estates team have also installed
permanent new rainbow floral displays to
brighten up our grounds on all four main
International Year of the
Nurse and Midwife - July 2020
This year marks International Year of the Nurse and
Midwife, a campaign by the World Health Organisation
in honour of the 200th birthday of Florence
Nightingale.
Nurses and midwives play a vital role in providing
health services in our workplace. They devote their lives
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
sites and provide a lasting reminder of
what we have all gone through this
year. Thanks to Your Trust Charity for
funding the initiative, and Amanda
Winwood, Fundraising & Membership
Academy Manager for the idea to help
us remember all those who have been
affected by the pandemic. Big thanks
to our hard working colleagues in our
estates team for their efforts in helping
with both these projects.”
to caring for mothers and children; giving lifesaving
immunisations and health advice; looking after older
people and generally meeting everyday essential health
needs. They are often the first and only point of care
in their communities. Throughout the year, we will be
highlighting some of our nurses, HCAs and midwives
who are making a difference to our patients.
Staff Nurse, Julie Prior
Staff Nurse
Julie Prior
Each month we profile some of our
wonderful nurses as part of our
2020 Year of the Nurse and Midwife
celebrations.
Read on to find out about the career
pathway of Julie Prior, Staff Nurse.
Julie has been in nursing for longer than she
is happy to admit and started her training at
Sandwell Hospital.
“I started my nursing career right here at
Sandwell in 1983 where I spent many of
my years as a staff nurse and a sister”, said
Julie. “I then briefly had a stint at Rowley
Regis Hospital before moving to Leasowes
Intermediate Care Centre where I’ve
worked for the last 14 years.
“I was at Leasowes in 2014 when we had
the infamous lorry incident. It was a cold
winter's morning in January 2014 when
an accident outside sent a lorry hurtling
through the side of the building.”
Without hesitation, Julie made sure all
her patients were safe, well and looked
after, like it was any other Monday, which
further demonstrated her professionalism,
kindness and caring ways. “I still remember
the images vividly. One side of Oldbury
Road was closed following the crash and
there was a white lorry cab end up stuck in
the side of the building. I stayed calm and
just focussed on my priority which was our
patients and my fellow staff.”
Four years later, Julie was officially
recognised for her work and for going
above and beyond the call of duty when
she was shortlisted for the Distinguished
Service Award at the 2018 Star Awards.
At the start of this year, Julie took partial
retirement, but due to her kind nature,
her desire to help others, as well as the
COVID-19 pandemic, she returned to the
Trust as a healthcare assistant.
11

Praise for maternity colleagues as
Amy shares her story
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
Amy Village-Free joined the public
Trust Board meeting on Thursday
2 July along with her happy baby,
Joey, to talk about her experiences
of giving birth at City Hospital. Amy
actually lives in Walsall but chose City
as her maternity unit when she found
out she was pregnant.
Amy told Board members: "Although I
am from Walsall, I receive my diabetes
care at this Trust so knew this was
where I wanted to give birth. I am a
type 1 diabetic so understood the risks
associated with pregnancy and felt I
would be well looked after here.”
“I had regular appointments with the
maternity team and at my check-up at
35 weeks, my baby was measuring large,
which was a cause for concern. They
basically said I wouldn’t be going home
until I gave birth!
“I can honestly say that everyone I
came into contact with was absolutely
wonderful. The care I received was
brilliant. Being on M1 was like being on
holiday – I was so well looked after.
“There were a few scary moments and
I had to have an emergency C-section
in the end, which all happened pretty
quickly, but even then I felt really safe and
that I was in good hands.
“Having baby Joey was amazing.
Although quite traumatic because it was
an emergency, I still think it was the best
experience of my life.
“My partner was able to stay with me as I
was lucky enough to have my own room.
That really helped.”
Board members were able to ask Amy
questions about her experience and
asked whether she had good continuity
of care from seeing the same staff. Amy
was pleased that on the whole she was
able to see the same clinicians.
Amy continued, “I was told regularly
at my diabetes checks that it would be
a good idea to inform them if I was
considering having a baby due so that
I could be well prepared. I talked to
my team for about two years before I
became pregnant which helped me get
ready and take the decision.”
“I want to thank all the staff, everyone
who supported me for the care they
gave.”
Amy with her partner Ben, and new arrival baby Joey on M1
12

Junior doctor’s children’s book about
lockdown praised by Harry Potter star
A frontline junior doctor has written
a children’s book which helps to
explain lockdown and coronavirus to
youngsters.
Oh! What a Lovely Lockdown! focuses on
the experiences of twins, Lily and Leo, who
are initially told how their plans to have
fun with family and friends, as well as go
on holiday, are cancelled because of the
pandemic. However, their parents refuse to
let this spoil their fun and the family think
of ways they can entertain themselves at
home. It has already been given the thumbs
up by Harry Potter star Oliver Phelps, who
has written the foreword.
Author Vijaytha Murali, aged 27, who
works in AMU at Sandwell Hospital,
explained: “I hope this book will inspire
children and their parents to get in touch
with their creativity. It shows how Lily and
Leo think of ways to have fun at home,
having the space and time to invest in their
creativity and imagination.
“The book is intended to help parents
and children to reflect on what has just
happened. The core message of the book
is that you can create your own joy and
happiness at home, no matter what the
circumstances are. Although it is a children’s
After months of hard work, the Junior
Doctors and Medical Students Common
Room finally opened in July. The new
area, formerly the physiotherapy gym
at City Hospital, boasts comfy sofas,
a kitchenette and two rest rooms,
which each house a reclining chair and
blackout blinds. There are also lockers
and two computers where colleagues
can continue with any work they
need to.
Raffaela Goodby, Director of People and
Organisation Development, attended the
opening alongside the wellbeing and
medical education team who have worked
together with Rita Brown from estates to
bring this project to life.
Sian Shingler, Undergraduate Manager,
said: “The medical students from The
University of Birmingham and Aston
University will be sharing the space with
our junior doctors. This is a huge step
forward in supporting the wellbeing of
both groups, integrating students from two
Dr Vijaytha Murali with the book she has
written
book I do hope it appeals to adult readers
as well.”
As well as being a trainee medic, Vijaytha
has always been a writer. She added:
“Writing is a way that I de-stress, reflect
and process things. I’ve been a creative
writer from a young age, but this is my first
official book.
“There were a couple of things that
inspired me to write it. I heard a lot about
the experiences of children in my family
and how they were coping throughout
lockdown. I have also been involved in
wellbeing initiatives during the pandemic
which made me think a lot more about
universities and developing the relationships
and transition from medical students to junior
doctor trainees. We are pleased that we have
been able to complete the project, especially
during the pandemic.”
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
New common room opens for junior
doctors and medical students
Unveiled – new common room for junior
doctors and medical students is officially
opened
what families with young children are
going through.”
Vijaytha, who is a British Medical
Association representative, continued:
“It’s exciting to have this book published
and to see where it goes. The feedback
I’ve received so far is that children love it.
They like the images and the concept of
the story.”
All profits from sales will be going to
the national charity Wellchild. Wellchild
ambassador Oliver Phelps, better known
as George Weasley in the Harry Potter
films, has written about the book: “Oh!
What a Lovely Lockdown! couldn’t
have come at a better time. Vijaytha
has created such a timely, engaging
children’s book that will entertain
children and parents alike and hopefully
help them through these strange times.”
The book costs £6.99 and you
can buy it here: https://www.
amazon.co.uk/What-Lovely-
Lockdown-distancing-adventure/
dp/1910853216.
Raffaela added: “I am so delighted to
have opened the common room. This
has been a long journey over the last
six months involving lots of people,
including our medical education team,
our junior doctor forum chair, our chief
registrar and many other hard-working
people.
“This area offers the opportunity for
our medical students and junior doctors
to use the space flexibly where they can
work together in a socially distanced
way. There are computers set up to
reflect this and, there are also two rest
spaces so that our doctors can rest
overnight. We’ve talked a lot during
COVID-19 and previously before that
about the importance of having rest
either before you drive home or during
a long shift. It’s really important to have
a break, have a hot drink and a rest,
and then go back to your patients and
colleagues refreshed and ready to make
really good decisions. I hope the junior
doctors and students enjoy using it.”
13

Trust scoops prestigious bronze award
for travel plan – a first for Brum
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
Our Trust has officially been
awarded the Modeshift STARS
Business Bronze Accreditation for
the delivery of our travel plan - the
first organisation in Birmingham to
achieve such a prestigious award.
SWB’s travel plan was created to
demonstrate our commitment to
creating a greener and more sustainable
workplace going forward. “A large part
of the travel plan itself was looking at
the way colleagues travel and making
it easier for people to choose to cycle,
walk, use public transport or car share,”
said Fran Silcocks, Sustainability Officer.
Fran Silcocks, Sustainability Officer is
leading the delivery of our travel plan
“We need to reduce the number of people
travelling to sites via car for many reasons - to
reduce car parking pressures, improve local
and national air quality, and improve health
and wellbeing.”
Courtesy of the travel plan and sustainability
efforts our workplace boasts an array of
schemes encouraging colleagues to take up
active and sustainable forms of travel, such
as the Cycle to Work scheme, increased
cycle storage capacity and electric vehicle
charging points across our hospital sites, with
significantly more planned.
Health centre reaches out with
improved access for women
Every year, it is reported that there
are around 3,000 new cases of
cervical cancer across the UK. Over
99 per cent of cases are preventable;
however, there remain some barriers
to women coming forward to get
their test.
Colleagues at Heath Street Health
Centre have removed one barrier – in
terms of access – by introducing childfriendly
clinics for women who have
no childcare provision, so they can
attend their appointment and whilst
undergoing their procedure a staff
member will look after their children.
They’ve also extended the hours of
the clinic to offer appointments on
Saturdays.
GP and clinical lead for the practice,
Dr Imran Zaman explained: “We have
a poor uptake of cervical cancer smear
tests in our area, with only 41 per cent
of eligible women coming forward to be
Heath Street Health Centre
tested. Being aware of some of the barriers
that stop some women attending, we knew
we needed to do something to help. So, we
introduced the new Saturday clinic in June this
year, offering 12 nurse appointments, and at
the same time have added ten bookable GP
appointments – which can be booked for any
medical reason. This is an enhancement to the
service we offer at Heath Street and has been
welcomed by our patients.”
The health centre has a staff of 14
representing a range of professions including
Birmingham City Council and local partners
are taking radical measures to achieve
a low carbon, clean air recovery from
lockdown, prioritising walking, cycling and
public transport, as well as preparing for
Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone. There has
never been a better time for SWB to engage
in effective travel planning.
Fran said: “We have been working on
travel and transport initiatives for many
years with the target of reducing singleoccupancy
driving to our sites. This has
been very challenging, however, if we
continue to promote and support active
and sustainable modes of travel, alongside
providing the infrastructure and working
in partnership with our local authorities,
we believe that we can create positive
change. As a Trust, we have a duty of care
to advocate improvements in air quality and
are committed to positively contributing
towards this.”
Fran was delighted to be awarded
the Modeshift STARS Business Bronze
Accreditation and believes it is a step in
the right direction to becoming a more
sustainable organisation. She added: “We
are elated to be given such a prestigious
award. We look forward to working with
our local authorities to improve air quality
and ultimately becoming more sustainable.”
GPs, district nurses, pharmacists admin and
a social prescriber. They are a progressive
practice looking after over 6,000 patients,
with registrations currently open to new
patients. The practice has dedicated GPs
specialising in the following:
• Dr Kunnummal has a special interest in
dermatology and joint injections
• Dr Zaman has a special interest in
teaching
• Dr Khan has a special interest in
diabetes and teaching
• Dr Kambo has a special interest in
sexual health.
Working in partnership with colleagues in
women and child health, the practice also
has plans to develop a tongue-tied service
to improve breastfeeding rates.
During the first wave of the pandemic the
surgery set up and ran the Ladywood &
Perry Barr hot site for COVID-19 symptom
patients across the patch, and has become
a GP training practice due to welcome their
first two students in August.
14

The importance of moving to Midland
Metropolitan University Hospital
When the Midland Metropolitan
University Hospital opens in
2022, it will bring together
teams who provide acute and
emergency care. The new
hospital will offer maternity,
children’s and inpatient adult
services to half a million
people which will massively
revolutionise patient care
across the region.
Heartbeat recently caught up with
Dr Chetan Varma, Group Director
of Medicine and Emergency Care,
to talk about the significance of
moving to Midland Met. He said:
“I think the move to the Midland
Metropolitan University Hospital is
important as it will bring together
two great hospitals with some
facilities remaining at each original
site. Working in a modern welldesigned
environment is vital for
patient care. Many of the wards will
have side rooms or small bays which
will only benefit patients and, more
importantly, reduce the potential risk
of infection. The building will have a
large green area built into it which
will be great for the health and
wellbeing of patients, visitors and
colleagues.”
The hospital will benefit the local
Chetan Varma, Group Director of
Medicine and Emergency Care
area as it will be a landmark building
that will be an asset to ensure
positive role modelling for the local
community. It will put help put
Smethwick on the map in terms of
being aspirational for school children
and the local workforce. It will also
allow for improved transport with
bespoke cycling and greener ways
of travel.
Chetan believes the move to the
Midland Metropolitan University
Hospital will benefit medicine
and emergency care in particular.
“The move will help facilitate new
ways of working. This will drive our
ability to explore in an academic
measured manner how this leads to
improvement as its model is unique
in creating an acute hub.”
He added: “Emergency and acute
medicine departments care will
benefit greatly as they will create a
harmonised workforce. By creating
a larger pool, the resilience of the
department increases which results
in expertise being shared. Cross
cover will also be greater so safety
and delivery of medical care will
be offered at a higher standard.
This all means that the best of care
provision can be brought into each
department from the outset. For the
wards having a workforce on one site
should allow for higher quality care,
seven days a week with increased
senior staff presence. This should
help reduce the risk of unnecessarily
prolonged hospital stays.”
When asked about how he feels
personally about the move, Chetan
explained how the delay has allowed
the Trust to be better prepared.
He said: “Waiting for the potential
benefits can be frustrating at times,
however, this has allowed us to
bring in other large changes such
as our electronic patient record,
Unity, and for most departments to
reconfigure and harmonise working
practise before the move.”
15

Developing the arts programme in the
Midland Metropolitan University Hospital
enhance not only the environment of
the hospital, but also place Midland
Met on the map as a building of
national significance. Our arts
strategy aims to be inspiring with a
range of visual and performance art
as well as specially designed spaces
for leisure and learning.
Amy Martin (centre) talks about the arts programme at the Midland Met relaunch event
in February this year
The Midland Metropolitan University
Hospital will be #morethanahospital
as we maximise the opportunities
to use the building as a catalyst for
regeneration of the local community.
As well as being a state of the art
clinical facility, the building provides
a number of areas for rest and
relaxation away from the clinical
areas.
The fundraising campaign seeks to
raise over £2m to fund enhanced
equipment and furnishings as well
as arts, heritage and education
programmes. The Trust has
appointed a creative producer,
Amy Martin, to take forwards the
arts strategy. Amy is working with
arts and cultural partners across
the region to develop visual arts
plans and creative projects that will
Amy has over 15 years’ experience in
developing and delivering innovative
cross-arts programmes with children,
young people and families. Talking
about the new hospital, Amy said,
“It is really exciting to be part of this
new development. The building itself
offers us some great spaces to come
up with innovative programmes that
showcase both national and local
artists and get different communities
involved. We have put together
proposals in collaboration with arts
organisations across Birmingham
and the Black Country who are keen
to work with us. From the community
garden, to an extensive art gallery
plus festival and performance ideas,
Midland Met looks set to be a first
class healing environment as well as
an inspiring place to visit.”
The Trust’s Arts Committee is
overseeing the implementation
of the arts strategy that forms a
significant part of Your Trust Charity’s
fundraising appeal.
#morethanahospital

Regeneration is key to success of
healthcare outcomes
of new residential and mixed-use
developments, new and improved
industrial uses, and the provision of
a new school. Some of these projects
are currently under-way, in particular
at Icknield Port and Soho Loop sites
which will deliver approximately 1,200
and 700 new homes respectively.
City Hospital site will be the next
key site within the corridor to bring
forward redevelopment. The site is
currently in the ownership of Homes
England and our organisation, which
will need to be considered within
developing a delivery strategy.
There is a real opportunity to create
an impact within the surrounding
area of the Midland Metropolitan
University Hospital when it comes
to regeneration - and the Trust
wants to be involved in how this has
a positive effect on the health and
wellbeing of the residents and the
local population.
There are numerous ways in which
we do this, including through
employment opportunities, the
creation of a 'healthy' neighbourhood
and improving the wealth of the
community. Jim Pollitt, Assistant
Director Strategic Development, said:
“Housing is one of the key factors
and it’s important that good quality
accommodation is built within the
area. There are several plans in place
for new housing in and around
the Midland Met, including a key
residential-led development by
Sandwell Council, which is great news
for us and the regeneration of the
area.
“Tackling climate change and
creating resilient places and
communities is at the heart of all
growth plans. But ensuring the link
between the new hospital and City
Hospital is vitally important, and we
are in the process of developing a
‘masterplan’ for this.
“We want to create a ‘corridor’ which
will become well recognised for
regeneration and we are seeking
the full support of the combined
authority and the two local
authorities in Birmingham and
Sandwell. One of the benefits of
creating this corridor will hopefully
mean a reduction in the amount
of traffic using the roads, therefore
leading to better air quality and
reintroducing more green space
across the area.
“Our masterplan will promote
a corridor of regeneration and
economic activity but also have a
positive impact on health. There is a
fantastic opportunity to revamp the
canal area and we are working closely
with the Canal and River Trust, which
could lead to the development of a
small marina, opening up the canal
network to the public and also to
transportation, such as river taxis,
and cycle paths. Our ideas don’t stop
there. There is potential to create
education facilities, such as new
schools, hotels and retail outlets.”
The Greater Icknield area is identified
as another area where improvement
is taking place. There are several key
development sites included within
the Greater Icknield masterplan
that hope to achieve the delivery
With most of the services relocating
from City Hospital to Midland
Metropolitan University Hospital
when it is complete in 2022, it
is anticipated that the current
hospital site will be redeveloped for
a residential-led mixed-use scheme,
delivering in the region of 750 new
homes. This will complement the
housing growth in the wider area.
But the site will remain as a hospital
site and retain the Birmingham
Treatment Centre, the Birmingham
Midland Eye Centre, along with some
other support services.
To assist with the reduction of traffic
congestion within this area and to
improve the facilities for pedestrians
and cyclists, it is also proposed to
widen the A457 Dudley Road and
introduce improvements to the
signalised junctions and pedestrian
crossings.
With additional cycling and
pedestrian facilities to the north side
of Dudley Road, the whole package
of improvements will assist in making
provision for possible future public
transport priority to mitigate the
potential expected increase in travel
demand to address the additional
resident movements.
Jim added: “All these improvements
will add value to the area, not
only improving the health of the
residents, but also the wealth of the
population.”

Midland Metropolitan University Hospital clinical model countdown
As our partner Balfour Beatty
progresses the construction
programme adapting for the
challenges associated with COVID-19,
our Midland Met project team are busy
getting ready for this big change in
patient care.
Rachel Barlow was appointed as
Director of System Transformation
in March and is leading everything
associated with Midland Met to
countdown to 2022. Heartbeat spoke
to Rachel to understand just how
different the model of care will be for
patients who need to be treated at the
new hospital and what the key steps
are along the way.
Rachel said: “Midland Met is a huge
change for our organisation. The
move to MMUH is not just a logistical
‘move in’ of existing services. The new
hospital build was based on a clinical
design to improve the experience
and care for our patients. The new
acute care model is about ‘moving on’
and improving the experience and
outcomes for our patients.’’
Rachel is working with the group
directors to set up engagement
activities over the summer to reorientate
teams to the MMUH lay out
and explore how care is provided in
the new facility. ‘’We understand the
scale of some areas will require new
ways of zonal working, for example
in ED and the range of assessment
and ambulatory care units. The frailty
and older people’s model for the
future needs definition and escalation
through levels of critical care is a
chance to review pathways in a single
acute site, including pandemics.
Likewise surgical, paediatric and
maternity pathways will all need
to adapt to optimise in the new
environment. The state of the art
diagnostic equipment dedicated
for emergency and inpatients only,
affords opportunities for direct to test
patient pathways equipment. We will
be working with clinical teams to see
how we can improve time to test and
treatment pathways in MMUH.’’
Rachel emphasised, ‘’The innovation in
the building design gives opportunity
to think differently about the
therapeutic care model in our new
space, with ward kitchens, the winter
garden on the 5th floor creating a
huge space to carry out activities and
a 360 degree walking route in and
outside the building.
‘’Wards will be standardised in their
layout and basic principles of how
they function. Our current practice
has mass variation. The benefits of
lean working, safety associated with
standardisation and implementation
of automated robotic vehicles as
part of how we work, all necessitate
standardisation at ward level. There
are some things we won’t be able
to embed until we get there like the
robots but standardising how our
wards work to provide consistency of
care is something we can get going
with now.
‘’One of the biggest impacts in terms
of readiness will be on teams. In many
cases services will be coming together
for the first time as we open – this
can mean up to four teams coming
together as one onto a single site.’’
“We have reviewed how other new
hospitals have been working, what
went well and what lessons we can
learn. We’ve seen great innovation at
this Trust, huge changes to ways of
working with Unity, standardisation
of pathways through COVID-19. We
have all the right ingredients here to
succeed and I am confident we will.
Up to October, Rachel and the system
transformation team will be out and
about across the Trust engaging
with clinical teams to develop
and finalise the acute care model.
Despite the pandemic, we are not
reporting a material delay on the build
programme so it is all systems go to
get ready.
Key milestones
July – October 2020
October 2020
December 2020
April 2021
Sept – Dec 2021
Jan 2022
March – June 2022
Engagement with clinical teams on clinical model and equipment
Finalise clinical model
Identify service leads for Midland Met who will be supported to get their
teams ready for 2022. Complete equipment and IT requirements
Begin changing services and getting ready
Prioritised access to install radiology equipment via MES
Virtual tours on offer
Hospital handover and move completed
You can view our fly through video here
https://www.swbh.nhs.uk/midland-metropolitan-university-hospital/

Red vs Blue streaming in ED making
a difference
A new streaming criteria for patients
coming through our emergency
departments is having a huge impact on
patient care and outcome.
As we battled to fight the pandemic our EDs
very quickly put together a streaming process
to help distinguish patients with COVID-19
and those without to ensure they get the
most appropriate care.
Lead Nurse, Helen Mallard told Heartbeat
the aim was to continue reviewing admission
processes in ED to ensure patient safety.
“We have recently reviewed the process
in collaboration with the acute medicine,
respiratory and microbiology teams. We
now have a nurse and doctor team at the
entrance of both EDs, who are responsible
for streaming patients into red or blue
areas. The process is very effective as we
can quickly identify COVID-19 patients and
those with other conditions can be triaged
appropriately in order to receive the care
they need.
“We also have a senior doctor as part of
the triage process who is able to discharge
patients if required. The streaming criteria
prevents overcrowding and is also reassuring
for patients so they are more confident to
attend hospital and seek our help.”
The team are now reviewing their winter
plans. Helen added: “As winter approaches
we will continue to audit our processes. The
plan is to maintain the red or blue streaming
criteria for the foreseeable future.”
MEDICINE AND EMERGENCY
CARE
Patients presenting with following conditions should be streamed to
the RED stream:
1. An influenza like illness or fever >37.8, with one of the following
respiratory symptoms, which must be acute in onset: a new persistent
cough (with or without sputum), hoarseness, nasal discharge or
congestion, shortness of breath, sore throat, wheezing or sneezing.
2. A new loss of sense of smell or taste (anosmia) either in isolation or
combination with any of the other symptoms.
3. A new onset of persistent cough.
4. A new and unexplained shortness of breath.
5. A recent COVID-19 positive test (within last 28 days) with any new
systemic or unexplained symptom.
6. History of exposure to a COVID-19 positive patient within the last 14
days and symptomatic with any of the above symptoms (contacted by
NHS Test and Trace).
7. Any patient in cardiac arrest, needing AGP (Airway management/
support in low GCS patients or conscious sedation), needing chest
procedures (seldinger/surgical drain) should be streamed to the RED
stream.
The following patients can be streamed to the BLUE stream:
1. Patients known to have COPD/asthma or cardiac failure presenting
with symptoms in keeping with exacerbation.
2. Patients with fever with clear alternative (non-COVID) explanation.
19

I've got the power!
MEDICINE AND EMERGENCY
CARE
Pandemic or no pandemic, one
thing is pretty clear – we have some
exceptional people working within
our organisation. The last few months
have been challenging on many
levels, but throughout all of this,
colleagues across the Trust have risen
to the challenge of tackling COVID-19.
The Women’s Clinician Network (WCN)
led by Dr Sarb Clare, Deputy Medical
Director and Acute Physician aims to
inspire and support all females to strive to
be the best version of themselves. Before
the pandemic, one of the objectives
high on the agenda of the WCN was to
commend individuals for the roles they
play in empowering colleagues. Dr Clare
told us: “Empowering others is essential
for individuals to thrive, develop and most
importantly in our field, deliver highquality
patient care. As the pandemic hit
these awards were postponed, but what
was ironic was that all these individuals
stepped up to the challenge and their
kind, compassionate, inspiring traits
shone through.”
Keeley Hopcraft - Ward
Manager AMU at City
Karen Parry -
Education Centre
Manager
Scott Shenton -
Fit tester
Dr Asif Naveed -
Consultant Emergency
Care
Craig Simpson -
General Manager -
Medicine
Dr Mike Blaber -
Palliative Care Registrar
and Wellbeing lead
Shaikat Dhar - SpR
Neurology
Becky O’Dwyer -
ITU Clinical Lead
As lockdown began to ease the
WCN made the time to celebrate the
achievements of their colleagues that
had played key roles at this critical time.
Highlighting the work of people from
all across the Trust, the awards were
something of a secret affair as the team
wanted to surprise the recipients on the
day. They arranged coffee meetings only
to delight the award winners with their
thanks as well as a certificate, trophy and
an NHS superhero keepsake.
Dr Vaish Kumar commented about
receiving this unexpected recognition:
“I would like to extend my gratitude to
Women’s Clinical Network for presenting
me with an Empowerment Award. It
is an honour and a wonderful surprise
that came at an important time for me.
I truly appreciate their initiative which
is empowering in itself. This award has
helped to boost my confidence as a
physician and reminds me that I am a
valued member of the SWBH family.
Thank you WCN!”
Dr Sarah Faloon and Dr May Yan took
the lead in delivering the good news to
worthy winners. Dr Yan told us: “The
colleagues we chose to say thank you
to were without a doubt deserving of
the recognition. We had feedback from
lots of people; everyone was keen to
share their thoughts and make sure that
Dr Jen Hancox - CMT
Dr Vaish Kumar -
Diabetes Registrar
we honoured those that had stood out
to them. Everyone from junior doctors to
senior clinicians had kind words to say
about our award-winning colleagues.
The recipients’ of the awards ranged
from medics to nurses, management, to
administrative staff which proves the power
of teamwork.”
Dr Sarah Faloon added: “We celebrated
both our male and female colleagues. As a
network, we recognise the importance of
having male allies who support, inspire and
stand up for women treating us with both
equality as well as equity. We are proud
we have so many male allies within our
organisation.”
Dr Mike Blaber, an award winner
commented: “It is a great privilege to work
with so many fantastic people, across
numerous departments at SWBH, all pulling
together to deliver the best possible care
for patients. The more we empower and
encourage one another in the particular
Stephanie Coates -
Cardiology Matron
Dr Ed Fogden
- Consultant
Gastroenterologist and
Clinical Lead
roles we each play, the greater our capacity
for excellence will be as one big team.
Thank you so much for this generous
award.”
Of all the recipients of this year’s awards,
the WCN would like to honour Mr Ed
Harper in particular. Dr Clare told us: “The
juniors have been raving continuously about
Mr Ed Harper throughout the pandemic.
On the day of lockdown, he saved a young
boys who had been stabbed in the heart
by sewing up his left ventricle whilst in
cardiac arrest with such calm confidence
and humility. Mr Harper said it was nothing,
yet he was not aware of the colossal impact
he had had on the many colleagues that
watched him in action. Having inspirational
figures is essential – if we can see it we can
be it. We all want to be like Mr Harper”.
Huge congratulations to everyone
that received an award this year. Keep
on empowering and inspiring your
colleagues!
20

WebEx – maintaining multi-disciplinary
team working
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic,
a new norm is beginning to become
established. Long gone are the
traditions of squeezing in to meeting
rooms or calling impromptu huddles.
And in its place stands WebEx, our
Trust’s solution to meeting people
whilst maintaining social distancing.
Video conferencing isn’t a new concept,
it’s been around for many years, but it
has always been a technology marred
with tales of staff unable to connect to
meetings, failing to hear each other, IT woes
and meetings being abandoned. When
COVID-19 arrived on the shores, we quickly
realised that clinical services still needed to
continue and safe clinical treatment needs
multidisciplinary input, quick and easy
discussions across sites with colleagues
being able to join in easily.
To find out more about how WebEx has
helped clinical teams, Heartbeat caught up
with Julian Mansell, PACS Technical Lead.
He said: “Our Trust was already starting to
utilise WebEx prior to the COVID outbreak,
but the luxury of remote participation
in meetings quickly became a necessity
overnight.
"Cancer Multi-Disciplinary Teams (MDTs)
were early uptakers with the Lung MDT
Dr Derek Connolly using WebEx to connect
with patients
being the first where clinicians from Heartlands
logged in remotely either from home or from
Heartlands Hospital. The uptake was quickly
followed by the remaining MDTs, elevating
the number from 3 MDTs to 9 MDTs within a
few weeks. WebEx was used to support social
distancing and enabling clinicians from our
Trust and neighbouring Trusts to participate in
WebEx Stats
• 3252 Total Meetings
• 2216 Total Video Meetings
• 122,953 Total Meeting
Minutes
• 409 Total Unique Hosts
• 16,415 Total Participants
SURGICAL SERVICES
managing patient care. Currently, all the
cancer MDTs now use video conferencing
and WebEx and they are likely to continue
to do so after the social distancing
requirements are relaxed.
In addition to cancer MDTs, the trauma
and orthopaedics team (T&O) started to
use WebEx for their daily team meetings.
Not only did this allow them to maintain
social distancing, but it also allowed a
key member of the team, Siten Roy, to
remote in every day from India where he
was stuck due to the outbreak. Following
on from this success, the T&O team
continued to utilise video conferencing
and WebEx for their monthly QIHD
meetings. Doing so has enabled them
to reach a very high standard and more
recently they have been accredited with
gold status for their QIHD meetings.”
Guides on how to use WebEx
Meetings and WebEx Teams are
available on Connect. If you would
like to make use of WebEx, you can
sign up for an account by contacting
the IT Servicedesk on ext 4050.
Saving lives – one sip at a time
An award winning programme
which tackles the misconception of
preoperative fasting has been making
waves in surgery as it continues to
improve patient outcomes and recovery
times one sip at a time.
The ’Think Drink’ Campaign scooped
the top award in 2018 weLearn poster
competition through its simple but
innovative improvements to patient
experience and outcome. It was the
brainchild of Dr Santhana Kannan,
Consultant Anaesthetist, who alongside
a team of likeminded doctors set out to
review the preoperative fasting guidelines.
The team learnt that although there has
been a longstanding rule of ‘No Food or
Drink before surgery’, often when patients
were allowed to drink small amounts of
water in the run up to their surgery, their
recovery times improved and they reported
better experiences.
Sharing his thoughts on the programme,
Dr Kannan explained, “The guidelines
that dictated our pre-operative fasting
regulations have been in place for over
three decades, and through this time
’Think Drink’ Campaign scooped the top
award in 2018
our knowledge, processes and experiences
in surgery have evolved and improved. The
guidelines stated that patients should fast
for six hours for solids and 2 hours for fluids
before surgery. However, audits in our Trust
as also elsewhere have consistently shown
that patients tend to fast for far longer than
is necessary, especially for fluids, and this
inevitably brings its own risk. “
The Think Drink programme is based on proven
research which showed small amounts of
water before surgery is safe and beneficial to
patient’s recovery. Patients who are hydrated
preoperatively have improved clinical stability, a
lower chance of post-operative vomiting
and better satisfaction.”
Implementing ‘Think Drink’, the team
established a new 0-2–6 approach to
modify the fasting guidelines. Patients
were allowed to drink small amounts
of water right up to the point of being
called for surgery, in addition to the other
allowed clear fluids up to two hours and
solids up to 6 hours prior. “
The new guidelines have been in place
for a while now and is now embedding in
the patient care culture of our Trust. Both
medical and nursing staff are now familiar
with the guidelines and have seen the
beneficial effects themselves. We know
that it is a safe strategy by which patient’s
recovery time and experience is improved
with little more than a few sips of water.”
If you have an innovative project that
is improving outcomes for patients,
share your work through this year’s
weLearn Poster Competition. Further
details can be found on Connect or
by emailing swbh.welearnposters@
nhs.net
21

The Krypton Factor – a 40 year
success story
IMAGING
Nuclear medicine, otherwise known
by the friendlier moniker 'medical
physics' at our Trust has recently
celebrated its 40 year anniversary
leading the National Krypton
Generator Service.
What was once a local research project
by Dr K Chackett at our Trust back in the
late 1970s led to a collaboration project
with Birmingham University supplying
the country krypton gas generators,
generators for lung ventilation imaging;
a vital part of the V/Q study for
pulmonary embolus (PE) diagnosis.
Sharing his thoughts Head of Nuclear
Medicine Dr Bill Thomson, said: “My
predecessor, Dr K Chackett, founded
the service and with his knowledge of
the Cyclotron Unit in the Department
of Physics at Birmingham University this
quickly led to a collaboration to produce
the radioactive Rubidium81, which could
be sent to hospitals in the area to be
used in their studies. The Rubidium is
trapped in a small column within a lead
shield and sent to hospitals to be used
the same day.
“The radioactive decay of the
Rubidiumb81 produces a constant
supply of Krypton gas which only has
a 13 second half-life. An airflow pump
sweeps the gas out when needed, is
breathed in by the patient and a gamma
camera gives an immediate picture of
the lungs gas flow. Along with that, a
standard Tc99m radiopharmaceutical
is injected and can image the lung
blood flow. Any lung segments without
perfusion (on the Tc99m images) but
which do have ventilation (on the
Krypton image) can indicate PE.
“At first, our service operated three days
a week, but it soon rapidly expanded as
the demand for imaging for PE grew.
Using our generators, about 15- 20
patients could be scheduled for imaging
in a day, not feasible with the other
agents.
“There were some very nervous times
though. By the late 1990s we were
managing to supply as far as Exeter and
Liverpool, the only other supplier in the
UK was the MRC research cyclotron at
the Hammersmith Hospital, supplying
generators mainly to the London area.”
The generators once faced a potentially
devastating blow that was luckily
From left – Matt Elms, Bill Thomson, Jilly Croasdale, Emma Harrop, Alanah Hefferman (Mark Tudor is
absent, shielding).
avoided. Bill explained: “In 2000, the
university announced they were closing down
their cyclotron. Devastating news! I had to
develop a business plan for a laboratory to be
fitted out on our City site, and arrange for the
Rubidium81 solution to be supplied from the
MRC cyclotron unit in Hammersmith. This was
a complete change in operation, and we had
to rely on our transport service to pick up two
daily batches of radioactive Rubidium81 from
Hammersmith for us to continue operating.
“A further blow came in 2004 when suddenly
Hammersmith Hospital shut down their
service and we quickly had to come up with a
new plan. Luckily, the physics department at
the university had just acquired a second-hand
cyclotron for research work. This cyclotron
was the same model as the MRC system, but
much newer! Serendipity again played a huge
part in keeping the service alive.
“It was also clear that with the expansion
in production we now needed to have the
krypton laboratory beside the cyclotron unit
to cut out the road transfer of very ‘hot’
Rubidiumb81 stock solution. Taking on all
of the Hammersmith production doubled
our production overnight! We also had to
establish new transport routes for the delivery
Official opening of the krypton lab on City site
by Dr Chackett (8th from Left) in 2001 (and Bill
Thomson second left)
of the generators to the whole London area
as well as our local hospitals.
“Finally in 2005, we moved production
back to the university, we finished
production at the City site lab on Friday
morning, while the MRC did their last
production run at the Hammersmith
Hospital. We had to leave time for our
rig activity to decay, so on Saturday and
Sunday, we dismantled and rebuilt the rig at
the university lab (there were LOTS of heavy
lead ‘bricks’ involved! Think LEGO, but with
10kg bricks, all to fit back together in their
place). After testing the rig on Sunday, the
university produced their first run for real,
and we started sending out generators
with no interruption in supply to ours or
the London customers! I still find that
remarkable, and a testimony to the staff
who made the whole new service work
seamlessly.
“In recent years, Computerised Tomography
(CT) scanners have been developed to
provide a diagnosis for pulmonary embolus.
With this ability to run 24/7, this seemed
like the latest death knell for our service.
However, it soon became clear that certain
patients could not have these scans, and
also our lung study gave much lower breast
dose – important in young women, and PE
has a higher incidence during pregnancy.
“I’m sure there will likely be other hurdles
in future. But for now, we are still operating
the only national Krypton81m generator
facility in the UK, providing generators
five days a week to nuclear medicine
departments across England and Wales.
With about 95,000 generators supplied in
the 40 years, and probably more than half a
million patients having their V/Q scan using
our Kr81m, it’s been quite a success from
our simple beginnings 40 years ago.”
22

Memories really do matter…
Maintaining a sense of closeness to
family and loved ones during COVID-19
has been a recurring theme throughout
this pandemic. Recognising this, the
connected palliative care team has been
working hard to ensure that the quality
of care for palliative patients is not
compromised.
Understanding the pressures the pandemic
has placed on families to stay connected at
this difficult time, the team came up with an
innovative new way to keep families in each
other’s thoughts. Conscious that memories
matter even more when loved ones are
apart, the team devised the Memories Matter
project.
One initiative within the project is memorial
hearts. Pairs of fabric hearts with different
designs on each pair have been kindly
handmade by a volunteer. One half of the pair
is given to family members, and the other is
given to the patient and remains with them as
a symbol of love and as a keepsake.
Amber Ness, Macmillan Occupational Therapy
Assistant, told Heartbeat: “It is a privilege to
be a part of someone’s journey. Spending
quality time with and getting to know each
patient we are caring for; speaking to them
and their loved ones, hearing them reminisce
of times gone by is special. The hearts are
Amber Ness and Natalie Reeves pictured
with the portrait gifted from a patient’s
relative
a symbolic token, a gesture of togetherness
for those who aren’t able to be together at an
incredibly important time.
“The hearts have been well received. Relatives
have taken great comfort in knowing that their
loved one has its counterpart and that the
pairs are unique to them. We have even video
called relatives so that they can see their loved
one holding the same heart. They have been
so grateful to know their loved ones are not
alone.”
Natalie Reeves, Health Care Assistant, added:
PRIMARY CARE, COMMUNITIES
AND THERAPIES
“We have given out over 30 pairs of hearts
to date. We handwrite messages with
the heart that goes to the relative. Overall
we feel honoured to be able to provide
this service, it’s such a small gesture, but
the reaction of family and patients is
overwhelming and quite emotional.”
Families have been so touched by the
initiative that they have even found
special ways to share their thanks. Rachael
Hendrickson, Advanced Macmillan
Occupational Therapist, explained:
“Following the care of a patient at
Leasowes who has now sadly passed
away, their relative wanted to say thank
you for the care their loved one received.
As she was touched by the memorial
hearts gesture, she painted a portrait
of Amber and Natalie as a token of her
appreciation.
"We are proud of the Macmillan Therapy
Team. We would also like to thank
our Leasowes colleagues for working
collaboratively with the palliative care
service for the benefit of our patients
during this challenging period.”
Home comforts offer helping hand
to patients
Maureen Badger decided she want
to make a difference for our most
vulnerable patients by offering home
comforts during COVID-19.
Physiotherapy Assistant Practitioner,
Maureen, approached her friends, families
and colleagues to donate anything they
felt would be beneficial to patients who
couldn’t see visitors due to the coronavirus.
“I asked all my friends, family members
and co-workers to give anything they could
spare. I wanted to improve the patient
journey for our Sandwell based patients
who couldn’t see any visitors as they usually
would due to the coronavirus pandemic,”
said Maureen.
“I came up with the initial concept after
feeling disappointed seeing patients not
having all the things they usually get
pleasure out of at hospital due to their
relatives and loved ones not being able to
visit them. I must thank my colleagues Fiona
Rowe and Cat Allen, who were a massive
help with this project.”
Maureen Badger and her physiotherapy
team – photo taken pre COVID-19 and
government social distancing measures/
guidelines
Due to the sheer quantity of generous
donations, Maureen, Fiona and Cat have been
able to make up goody bags for patients and
even deliver them to the most affected wards
and areas to bring some joy and comfort to
patients during these challenging times.
The positive news doesn’t stop there. Since
Maureen came up with the idea, many
colleagues have followed suit resulting
in even more patients getting home
comfort goody bags.
Francesca Hindle, Advanced
Occupational Therapist, works alongside
Maureen, Fiona and Cat and feels proud
to work with such generous colleagues.
She said: “I feel full of pride when I
think of Maureen, Fiona and Cat and
what they have done for our patients.
They have all helped facilitate so many
donations already which have resulted
in patients feeling more upbeat and
positive during these difficult times.
Hannah Jenns, Advanced
Physiotherapist, who also works with
Maureen, Fiona and Cat echoes these
thoughts and added: “They have all
gone above and beyond with Maureen’s
idea. They have even taken the time to
arrange doorstep drop-offs to collect
donations which just shows what great
people they truly are.”
23

The Sapphire Service – offering a gem
of a lifeline to the local community
PRIMARY CARE, COMMUNITIES
AND THERAPIES
The Sapphire Service has been
delivered at Sandwell Hospital for
two years supported in partnership
by Agewell and by the West
Bromwich African Caribbean
Resource Centre. The aim of
the service, for those that don’t
know, is to support older people
(Sandwell residents in particular)
and their family carers while they
are in hospital and when they are
discharged. They provide the ‘wraparound’
service that commences
when a patient goes home.
The aftercare provided by the team
focuses not only on making sure that
discharged patients are taking care
of themselves but is about keeping
the avenues of independence open,
something Community Pathfinder Jason
Denny told Heartbeat about earlier this
year. He said: "It's about maintaining
that independence, that freedom and
making sure patients who are potentially
susceptible to being readmitted get the
support they need. Going from being
without social contact to being almost
cocooned in the care doctors and nurses
provide, only to then go back to that
social isolation. We want to make sure
that doesn't happen."
Services are funded by the Better Care
Fund and Sandwell West Birmingham
NHS Trust’s Hospital to Home scheme.
Sapphire staff aren’t based on the wards,
but discharge planners and the iCares
team can refer patients who may need
this extra help. As a result, the Sapphire
Service team works with Sandwell’s ED
and AMU quite a lot but are keen to
encourage other wards and departments
to contact them if they come across
someone they think is vulnerable.
Sandwell residents who have been
treated at both City Hospital and
Russell’s Hall Hospital are also eligible.
Yet since the coronavirus, the team have
not been able to be as visible and that
has seen a dramatic reduction in referrals
at a time when those who are alone and
vulnerable have been made even more
so.
The list of things that the Sapphire
Service can help with is significant,
including acting as a guide to navigating
the Government’s coronavirus guidance.
While a one-off initial shop for patients
and collections of prescriptions is
also a vital part of the team’s remit,
Krishna Khosla
they also offer financial and emotional
care too. Another key part of the service
is the education aspect. The team suggest
techniques and approaches for keeping active
and staying healthy, identifying meaningful
ways to stay connected, engaged and
occupied. The team can also help signposting
organisations in the community that can
provide additional help, suggest benefits that
patients may be able to claim and act as a
go-between to set up discussions with other
professional bodies.
Krishna Khosla and Ranson Notice are two
such individuals who in recent weeks have
had the benefit of support from the Sapphire
Service.
“The service is excellent,” says Krishna.
“Without them doing my shopping I would
have gone without food. I’m so grateful for
Sapphire’s support and the befriending calls I
received each week.”
The Sapphire Service made a real difference to
Ranson, who struggles with both arthritis and
dementia. He said he was very grateful for the
support provided to him and looks forward
to seeing the team each week and through
Ranson Notice
social distancing is happy he can talk to
staff while he stands at his front door.
"Returning home can be a daunting
prospect for our most vulnerable patients
and their families, whether after attendance
to ED or after discharge following an
overnight stay in one of our acute medical
units,” adds Interim Clinical Directorate
Lead for iBeds, Sarah Oley. “It’s fantastic to
have this enhanced discharge support offer
which has been added to our already wellestablished
Sapphire Service. The team are
flexible in providing what is important to
the patient and even during the pandemic
have been able to provide a modified and
safe, patient-facing service, to support
vulnerable members of our local community,
enabling them to remain safely at home and
promoting their long term independence,
health and wellbeing."
The Sapphire Service has continued to
develop since its inception as a pilot project
initially funded by Your Trust Charity.
Eddie Edmead is the charity’s major grants
manager, he said: “With our support, the
Sapphire Service is steadily growing into a
flagship patient outreach service. We are
ensuring it is able to address, monitor and
maintain service take-up and standards,
whilst remaining compliant in meeting its
funding and contract requirements with the
Trust.”
If there’s a patient you feel could
benefit from the Sapphire Service,
you can call to discuss the matter on
0121 796 9333 (Monday to Friday 09:00
am to 4:30 pm). Alternatively, you
can also refer via the referral form on
www.agewelluk.org.uk or via email at
agewell.uk@nhs.net or info@agewelluk.
org.uk. Patients will receive a call in
three working days of their discharge
after which the Sapphire Service will
provide a time-limited intervention for
up to six weeks.
24

Community care continues on
the terraces
Health visitors have joined midwives
in delivering care to our community
from the comfort of the VIP boxes
at West Bromwich Albion. And the
move has scored some great feedback
from parents using the service, with
many praising the venue, saying it is
comfortable and has great parking
facilities, whilst others commented on
the need for face-to-face appointments.
Rachel Langford, Team Leader for Health
Visiting, said it was important that the service
continued seeing parents face-to-face during
the lockdown. “The Health Visiting Service
has been able to maintain a high-quality
service during the pandemic because of the
continued hard work from all of our staff and
the generosity of West Bromwich Albion for
allowing us to utilise their fantastic venue.
“Health visitors and community nursery
nurses have continued to be front facing
during this time while adapting to a different
way working and service delivery. They have
utilised the PPE that they have been provided
with to protect themselves, colleagues and
our families.
“The services offered at the Hawthorns have
provided a learning experience for our student
health visitors, as they have also had to adapt
to a different way of delivering a service and
have been able to see the processes and
systems that have been put in place to achieve
this.”
Clinics are run Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and
Friday most weeks, dependant on football
fixtures. During the period from 18 May to
26 June, the team have seen 206 babies and/
or children for weight checks and they have
completed 79 development reviews. The service
has gone from offering no baby clinics and
completing development reviews by telephone
to seeing over 285 youngsters to date.
All patients are screened over the phone before
WOMEN AND CHILD HEALTH
attending their appointment and on
the day they will once again be asked
COVID-19 related questions to ensure the
site remains secure from the virus.
The clinical appointments cover the
usual advice around weaning, feeding,
healthy diets, breastfeeding support,
development in baby clinics, removal
of bottles and dummies, speech
developments and how to encourage
this, behaviour management, skincare,
parenting skills, toilet training, and sleep
routines.
Health visitors make their mark on the Baggies’ ground, as they carry out
appointments
Coronavirus leads to increase in
breastfeeding, experts reveal
Our infant feeding team has noted an
increase in breastfeeding of newborn
babies which could be linked to the stay
at home restrictions as a result of the
coronavirus pandemic.
Breastfeeding initiation rates in April were
around 86 per cent – a six per cent increase
compared to figures recorded at the same
time last year at our Trust*.
The figures were released during National
Breastfeeding Celebration Week (Monday 1
June to 7 June).
An initial study** of breastmilk expressed by
mothers recovering from COVID-19 found
specific IgA antibodies against the virus in
80 per cent of milk samples. COVID-19 virus
has not been found to be transmitted in
breast milk unlike other body fluids.
Mum-of-four Sonia Thompson, aged 38,
gave birth to Myah on 17 April and has
been breastfeeding her since she was born.
“I was always going to breastfeed Myah
regardless of what was happening in the
outside world,” said Sonia. “I have found
that I can focus on it more because there
are less interruptions. Usually I would have
New mum Sonia with baby Myah who was
born at City Hospital
to stop to take my 10-year-old son to school.”
Myah was born at City Hospital, but was
transferred into the neonatal unit after she
had problems with her oxygen levels and had
lost blood. Sonia added: “I didn’t hesitate in
expressing my milk so that she could drink
it through a tube feed whilst she was being
cared for in the neonatal unit.”
Louise Thompson, Infant Feeding Coordinator,
said: “Breastfeeding is designed to
be protective, it isn't just nutritional. When
women are exposed to bacteria and viruses
their body responds by sending specific
antibodies to breastmilk.
“In addition to this, we have spoken to
lots of mums who have told us that they
are able to spend more time learning
to breastfeed their child because they
are staying at home. This seems to be
helping breastfeeding get off to a better
start although lack of social support can
also make mums feel lonely and isolated.
“During the pandemic the feeding team
have been offering virtual clinics. These
have been really helpful especially when
women are unable to get in to see us in
the hospital.
“We are also using an interpreting
service so that all women and babies
receive the same level of care.”
Louise added that face-to-face clinics
are also continuing at City Hospital and
at both West Bromwich Albion Football
Club and Aston Villa.
*In April 2019 343 women of 431 initiated
breastfeeding (79.6 per cent). In April
2020 317 of 370 initiated breastfeeding
(85.7 per cent).
** Initial study can be found here:
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.110
1/2020.05.04.20089995v1.article-metrics
25

A novel approach to paediatric
simulation during COVID-19
WOMEN AND CHILD HEALTH
The simulation and paediatric
teams have recently joined forces
to initiate a weekly departmental
multi-disciplinary simulation
programme. The aim of this initiative
is to focus on the safe management
of paediatric patients during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
The teams have covered the safe use
of high-flow oxygen therapy, CPAP and
nebulisers. The sessions have been held
in a non-clinical area in the paediatric
department at Sandwell. They have been
streamed live over WebEx to allow those
staff members working from home or
shielding to participate, and to facilitate
social distancing. Paediatric student
nurses, healthcare assistants, staff nurses
and medical staff have all taken part
wearing appropriate PPE and worked
together to manage simulated patients
as they would in real clinical practice.
Each scenario is followed by a group
discussion about how the case was
A multi-disciplinary simulation
managed and how participants felt. The take
home learning points are then identified.
Feedback has been obtained following
all sessions and staff have described
them as “interesting” and held in a “safe
environment,” with staff learning “how
communication can be affected when
wearing PPE.” One colleague mentioned
that the session helped them to appreciate
the importance of taking the time to
communicate effectively when talking to
colleagues, parents and patients. Roleestablishment
and the importance of
situational awareness and effective team
work were also highlighted as being
important.
Dr Danielle Bogue, Simulation Fellow told
Heartbeat: “These sessions have proven
to be extremely useful to everyone that
has participated. Being able to host these
sessions virtually as well makes such a
positive difference as we can include
everyone we need to, regardless of whether
they are in work or working from home.
We will continue to develop the programme
based on feedback from colleagues and
thank everyone for their input so far.”
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.
Patient information for hundreds of procedures carried out across
the Trust can be downloaded for free and passed on to patients
to help them better understand the procedure they may be
undergoing. Many of these are available in different languages and
formats and help patients to give informed consent.
Visit Connect Clinical Systems EIDO PT Leaflets.
For more information, please contact CommunicationsTeam on
ext.5303 or email swbh.comms@nhs.net
26

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
Sandwell nursery bathroom has
a whale of a good makeover
Commotion in the Ocean just happens
to be one of the nursery school children's
favourite books, so much so, that the
tale has inspired an oceanic bathroom
makeover. The story begins:
There’s a curious commotion
At the bottom of the ocean
I think we ought to go and take a look.
These very words have jumped off the page
and been brought to life by Toni Carr, our
Deputy Nursery Manager. What was once
a bathroom with stickers on cubicle doors
has been transformed into an underwater
adventure. The walls depict some of the
much-loved characters from the book - a
shark, angelfish, turtle and dolphin, but the
main attraction has to be the blue whale.
The bathroom even has a net hanging from
the ceiling to make it as realistic as possible.
Heartbeat caught up with Toni Carr, who
told us: “I wanted to create something that
would stand out. I know how much the
children love Commotion in the Ocean, so
I decided this would be the best choice.
This project gave me the chance to put my
artistic skills to the test and, I’m pleased
with the result.”
Commotion in the Ocean
Emma Collier, Sandwell Day Nursery
Manager, said: “Toni has done an
unbelievable job. She gave up her own
time to complete this; she even came in
on the weekend. The bathroom is a big hit
IMAGING
with the children; they were blown away
when they first saw it. The parents love
it too, so it has been a huge success all
around. Thank you, Toni.”
Denise Lunn – over a decade of
supporting our patients
Denise Lunn, Ward Clerk will be retiring
after 11 years at our workplace.
Denise started at the Trust in 2009 working
across a variety of wards and areas at our
Sandwell site. “I was a ward clerk across
many different wards such as Newton
1, critical care, Lyndon as well Newton 1
which is where I started,” said Denise. “It
feels like over the last 11 years I have gone
full circle as Newton 1 was the first ward I
worked on and it will also be the last.”
A ward clerk faces many challenges
through their fast-paced, ever-changing
role, such as working to tight deadlines,
being able to communicate effectively with
clinical colleagues on all levels and being
IT literate. Denise was more than capable
of carrying out these duties having worked
in an admin based role before working at
the hospital. “Before working at SWB, I
worked as a dental receptionist for around
30 years meaning I was more than able to
work efficiently in a clinical environment as
a ward clerk.”
To be able to work as a ward clerk over a
long period it is fundamental that you can
Denise Lunn – over a decade of supporting our patients
live our nine care promises. Rose Bogle,
Sister, believes Denise shows passion
and empathy in abundance towards our
patients and will be missed on the ward.
She said: “Denise was a valuable member
of the team. She was approachable,
supportive and helpful to staff, patients and
relatives. Everyone in the team on Newton
1 will miss her very much.”
As part of her retirement, Denise plans to
spend more time with her granddaughters
and is looking forward to going on more
holidays in the future.
27

Ain’t Mis-beehavin’
The community team are no strangers
to trying to make a bit of a buzz, but
they were more than a little surprised
when their trip to collect updated
COVID-19 ward posters from City
Hospital was interrupted by a group
of rather noisy interlopers.
The gang, several hundred strong and
refusing to abide by any reasonable
definition of social distancing regulations,
came onto hospital grounds unannounced
and decided to hold a very noisy
demonstration outside of the pathology
building. Fortunately, security was not
needed on this occasion, due to the
invaders being a very active swarm of
honeybees. The swarm, which had
departed from an existing hive within the
local region in the company of a young
queen, were looking to start a new colony
– and apparently, the bushes outside of
pathology were a potential new home.
Sadly as pathology wasn’t the place for
these new visitors, people working nearby
were already checking the location of
their EpiPens, and as their inclusion into
the Trust set up was unlikely to go down
well with estates, colleagues did what you
should always do in this situation: call in
the professionals.
As you no doubt know, bees play a
vital role in the ecosystem as they help
in the pollination of plants, including
commercial crops. The last decade or so
has been something of a disaster for bee
populations, with honeybees, in particular,
suffering from colony collapse disorder
(CCD). This affects colonies and results
in the sudden and unexpected drop of
Sharif Khan and the Birmingham Beekeepers Association
healthy adult bees inside the hive resulting
in the colony’s ultimate demise.
ED Matron at City Hospital, Annabel
Bottrill told Heartbeat: “I was with a
colleague when we noticed the bees and
were concerned for both their safety and
that of any vulnerable passers-by. The bees
were swarming at shoulder height - my
colleague ducked down to pass by as she
didn’t want them tangled in her hair. On
discussing this with nursing colleagues
we knew we needed to act fast to protect
the bees. We phoned the Birmingham
Beekeeper Association and they kindly
sent out a swarm collector – Sharif Khan.
IMAGING
He arrived at the hospital with his bee
paraphernalia to entice the bees into a
transit hive so they could be relocated
to a much more ‘des res’ in sunny south
Birmingham.”
Sharif Khan explained more: “As I am
sure many people know, bees play a vital
part in pollination and that affects not just
your garden flowers but crops too. So we
must make sure they are being looked
after because they are helping to look
after us. The swarm at the hospital was
coerced into a temporary hive to allow us
to transport them; they’re now installed in
a full hive managed by a member of our
association.”
28

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Kathleen French | Interim Chief Nurse
Kathleen French, Interim Chief Nurse
This month we say a warm welcome to
our new Interim Chief Nurse, Kathleen
French. She joins us at a critical time and
brings a wealth of experience to the role.
Speaking to Heartbeat, she said: “I am
looking forward to being a part of the Trust.
It’s understandably a worrying time, but I
am ready to take on the challenges we will
undoubtedly face together. I am excited to
meet all of my new colleagues and to get
out and meet all of our nursing colleagues
especially.”
Kathleen has had an impressive career to
date. She told us: “I trained initially as a
registered general nurse specialising in ITU
and renal nursing, but I have worked as a
director and deputy district nurse in various
acute trusts for several years. I have also
worked in a CCG as DDN and in quality
roles as well as within community services.
Most recently, I have worked as a director
In July we say a big hello to our corporate nursing team. Since the retirement
of our former chief nurse, Paula Gardner we have been joined by some new
and not so new faces to lead the corporate nursing team. Please join us in
giving them a warm welcome and congratulating them on their new roles.
of nursing, allied health professional and
psychologist at Black Country Partnership.
During this time the trust achieved a
successful merger with Dudley and Walsall
Partnership Trust and obtained a ‘good’ CQC
rating.”
She added: “I’ve also completed an MBA
from Keele University and more recently,
an MA in Consulting and Leading in
Organisations from Tavistock and Portman
and the University of East London. I’m
keen to work with and develop teams to
continue to improve services for patients and
capture learnings from the recent challenges
presented by COVID 19.”
Be sure to give Kathleen a warm SWB
welcome if you see her out and about.
Sarah Carr-Cave | Deputy Chief Nurse
Sarah Carr-Cave, Deputy Chief Nurse
Sarah Carr-Cave returned to the Trust
in July 2020 as our new Deputy Chief
Nurse.
Sarah began her nursing career in 1990,
completing her nurse training and working
in London before she moved to Birmingham
in 1998. Following relocation, she initially
worked at City Hospital in critical care and
has since worked across the region. From
2005 Sarah has worked in senior nursing
roles, and a corporate governance role,
before joining the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital
as a divisional head of nursing.
Sarah is excited to re-join the Trust and take
on the challenges that her role will bring. She
told us: “I'm passionate about ensuring our
patients receive the highest quality of care
across all areas of the Trust. I look forward to
supporting the Trust preparing to move into
the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital
and delivering the vision for the community
we serve. I am excited to work with nursing
colleagues across the Trust to raise the profile
of nursing and ensure nursing has a voice.”
Outside of work Sarah enjoys spending time
with friends, fine dining and going to the
theatre. She also enjoys gardening, baking
and keeping fit.
Helen Bromage | Associate Chief Nurse
Helen Bromage, Associate Chief Nurse
Whilst you may recognise the face,
the name may sound unfamiliar. This
is because our newest associate chief
nurse has recently got married. Helen
Bromage was indeed Helen Cope until
very recently.
With a new name, a new role and, so much
going on we caught up with Helen to find
out more about her career to date. Helen told
us: “I am a children’s nurse by trade and have
always worked with sick children. I trained in
North West London, qualifying in 2000 and
then I worked as a staff nurse before moving
to Birmingham. I worked at Birmingham’s
Children’s Hospital, where I worked in burns
and plastics before moving into being a
resuscitation officer. In August 2011, I moved
to Sandwell and West Birmingham to take up
the post of lead resuscitation officer, and I’ve
been here ever since.”
“I am excited to take on the role of our
associate chief nurse. Previously I have been
the head of education, and I think looking
at my career so far there have been some
common themes - for example, education,
the deterioration of patients and how we
manage that.
"Since I joined the Trust we have halved the
number of EMRT calls and have an aboveaverage
survival to discharge post-cardiac
arrest. We have increased our student nursing
and midwifery clinical placement provision by
150 per cent. We've also supported some of
the first nursing associates into the workforce
and onto the nursing and midwifery council
register which is a fantastic achievement.
I’m looking forward to building on all of this
in my role as associate chief nurse and look
forward to working with colleagues’ right
across the organisation.”
Speaking of her interests outside of work,
Helen commented: “I have supported the
charity Dreamflight for the past 12 years.
The charity takes 192 children on a trip of a
lifetime to Florida.”
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
What’s more important – revenue
or our local communities' health?
With the parking barriers due to come down and
parking charges due to be enforced again, I amongst
many others, have one major concern – why exactly
are we doing this? Yes, I understand the Trust is keen
to start charging our staff and patients again and
start making money, however, shouldn’t our health
be more important than money?
We have implemented face masks on-site, introduced
social distancing around office areas and shielded
our most vulnerable colleagues effectively, yet by
lowering the barriers every person who comes on
to our site will have to scan their card or even worse
press that button at the parking barriers. This would
mean that if somebody with COVID-19 presses the
button and then people after them press it they are
highly likely to catch COVID-19. Shouldn’t we just
leave the barriers up rather than put people at risk
for no reason other than to make some money from
parking charges? Unless of course, the Trust plans on
fully cleaning down each parking button after usage,
as well as each parking station where you pay for a
ticket – is that the plan?
It seems baffling to me that we are doing all these
positive things to stop the spread of this highly
infectious disease, yet overlooking something so
simple. Are we willing to put our patients, their
families and staff at risk just to start making money
via parking? Surely protecting people’s health should
be paramount, especially for a hospital or does that
become secondary when money is involved?
Dear colleague,
Thank you for your letter. As you are well
aware COVID 19 has presented many different
challenges over the last few months and as a
Trust we have coped very well. Our intention
is to get all our services back up and running
as soon as it is safe and practical to do so. Car
parking is one of those services, and plans are
being drawn up to determine how this can be
achieved. Several hospitals in the region have
already reintroduced car parking control and
charges safely, and we intend to learn from their
experience.
The other theme running throughout your
letter is money and the reintroduction of car
parking charges. If we didn’t have car parking
charges how would we maintain the car parks,
the barriers, CCTV and security lights? As a
supportive organisation we want to provide our
staff, patients and visitors with good quality,
secure car parks that are close to the work place.
The cost to staff for this service is approximately
83p per day, which I think is great value for what
you get.
I agree with you in that we do not wish to put
unnecessary risk on staff, patients or visitors by
reinstating the barriers, and we will not be doing
that until it is deemed safe to do so. Money does
not come into that decision and it is definitely
not a case of putting money before staff and
patient safety.
Kind regards,
James Pollitt–
Assistant Director Strategic Development
I can't lip read if colleagues have
their masks on
Dear Heartbeat
I’ve worked with the Trust for over 10 years, and have
never found any issues with regards to my hearing
impairment in my day to day work.
Since COVID have struck the world, and we have
taken extra precautions with regards to PPE and social
distancing, I am finding barriers are starting to arise.
The barriers I am facing are the lack of understanding and
awareness from some people and the Trust. I rely on lip
reading to understand what is going on around me and
attempting to join in the virtual way is impossible.
As meetings, training and QHIDs are carried out virtually
through WebEx this is one of my barriers that I am facing.
Masks are worn to protect each other from COVID, but
it is a barrier to me in understanding others. Most people
are very understanding when told and they do remove
this. I am very grateful that they are being considerate
and showing kindness towards me.
If this is the new normal for many months to come, what
is the trust going to put in place for me and others to
overcome my barriers? I feel that deaf awareness training
needs to be made mandatory to help staff understand
the barriers that we face.
Regards
Anon
Dear colleague,
Thank you for raising this important issue, one
that I know currently has a high national profile as
the NHS is currently working with PPE providers to
develop masks which support the needs of hearing
impaired patients and staff. I will also flag the issues
you raise regarding PPE with our procurement
department, who I am sure are already sighted
on the issue, to ensure we can update in our
communications when appropriate masks are made
available to the Trust.
In order to ensure you are supported and so that
adjustments can be made to enable you to feel as
much a part of your team as you feel you did pre
COVID-19, it is important that you link in with your
manager so they can fully appreciate your situation
and make appropriate adjustments to the way in
which meetings are conducted (many can be held
both virtually and locally at the present time) and so
that they can address your concerns regarding PPE
and your working environment. Every department
is different but they will have a full understanding
of the nature of the role and how adjustments can
be made and will be able to seek advice via their
operational HR contact.
Deaf Awareness Training is not something we
currently offer but will certainly look into for the
future. We also have an ongoing commitment to
offer staff British Sign Language training at Levels 1
and 2, with more sessions available for staff soon.
I would also urge you to consider joining the
Disability and Long Term Conditions Staff Network
as they play a vital part in raising awareness,
concerns and providing a useful support network for
colleagues with long term conditions. For details on
when and where the next meeting will take place
please email swb-tr.swbh-gm-EqualityDiversity@nhs.
net
Kind regards
Bethan Downing, Deputy Director, People and
Organisation Development
It all seems like risky business to me
Dear Heartbeat,
I am writing to raise my concerns about the risk
assessment process and what follows afterwards. I am
pleased that we now have this process in place; however,
I must ask why it took so long to reach this point. I’m
aware of other trusts doing assessments earlier than us.
Our organisation is made up of a diverse mix of
colleagues, many of whom are BAME. I am classed as
BAME and have taken part in the risk assessment and
subsequently received my letter outlining some points.
What is lacking for me is some clear guidance. I
acknowledge the letter has some good points about
wearing PPE, however, I think it would be more useful if
it said what you should be doing for each category, i.e.
low, medium, high and then splitting that down even
further into guidance for clinical and non-clinical staff. For
example, the letter I received said there was the option of
using a face mask in shared offices. This puts the onus on
me to decide what to do. I thought the whole point of a
risk assessment was to inform you of any potential risks to
your health and how to mitigate them.
Now that risk assessments are being done are we seeing
people follow the measures that have been set out? How
is this being monitored by the organisation, and by taking
these steps does it mean we are better prepared if we get
hit with a second surge of COVID activity?
Anon
Dear colleague,
Thank you for raising some very important points
on this issue of great significance. Firstly, if I may
clarify that we have had a risk assessment process
in place since the beginning of this pandemic which
was more manager led initially as we wanted to act
swiftly to protect our most vulnerable colleagues at
a very uncertain time for everyone.
The current risk assessment introduced at the
beginning of June 2020 is a more specific one which
takes into account the so far known risk factors
including BAME background after new evidence and
knowledge in this area emerged. We still don’t know
a lot about this awful disease or fully understand the
risk factors for developing severe illness due to it but
are all trying our best to keep everyone safe as far as
is possible.
I fully agree with you about categorisation and that
is exactly what has been done. The letter you have
received gives individual advice to you and for your
manager based on your risk category. Different
categories have advice based on recommended
measures for their category and it specifies that
only measures relevant to the individual’s role are
expected to be implemented. Anyone is welcome
to see the grid on recommended measures for each
category. There is also a manager’s checklist for
other measures to be considered.
As we are all working together to fight this
pandemic, it is everyone’s responsibility to play
their part and as colleagues, we have a duty to
protect ourselves and others. The onus is therefore
as much on us as it is on others to promote best
practice preventive measures. In some ways we
are all vulnerable but many of us are more so than
others. Working together, I am sure we will make a
difference.
In the next phase after everyone has been risk
assessed, concordance with advice and other
recommended measures will be monitored.
Kind regards
Dr Masood Aga, Consultant and Specialty Lead in
Occupational Medicine
30

David talks about: Public health priorities
Professor David Carruthers, Medical Director and Acting Chief Executive
Toby Lewis is away
DAVID’S LAST WORD
Wellbeing
MIDLAND
METROPOLITAN
UNIVERSITY
HOSPITAL
This month we celebrated the NHS
birthday with thank you messages to
our communities who have supported
us during the pandemic. So many
individuals, businesses and community
groups have stood with us over the
past few months that it is only right
that we should give our thanks and
support back. The impact of the
lockdown is being felt right across
the country and more so in our local
deprived communities. With job losses
increasing and many local businesses
struggling to survive, our challenge lies
not just in how we manage a potential
second surge, flu and winter, but in
how we shore up support for those
communities who most need it. Public
health must be as much a priority for us
as bed planning, safe patient care and
sound financial management.
At the time of the last NHS birthday on
5 July 2019 we launched perhaps one
of our biggest public health campaigns
to date – introducing smoke free sites.
This was a whole Trust effort and has
largely been a success with minimal
need to fine smokers, free access
to nicotine alternatives and record
numbers of staff accessing support
to stop smoking. Going into the
campaign, we knew that we were likely
to hear concerns about people seen
smoking on the boundaries of our site,
but felt that was a price worth paying,
if more people were encouraged to
quit. The stories from people who have
managed to be smoke free for a year
are testament to that.
Our public health campaign this year
will focus on being a healthy weight
which is perhaps more important than
ever as obesity carries an increased risk
of a poorer outcome with COVID-19.
The campaign is not about urging a
change in appearance, but it is about a
healthy approach to nutrition, physical
activity and mental wellbeing. Staff will
be able to access a range of healthy
options such as team challenges, smart
scales and apps to track progress and
access to wellbeing coaches. Once we
have the staff activities under our belts,
excuse the pun, we will see how we
can best play our part in supporting
local communities to become healthier,
linking up primary care, community
services, social prescribing, voluntary
services and public health colleagues. We
have a developing relationship with the
Sandwell Leisure Trust that will continue
to grow as we plan for Midland Met and
the opportunities that this provides for
healthy spaces within and outside the
new building and on our retained
estate.
The countdown to the Midland
Met clinical model is outlined in this
issue which has brought home to
me the importance of getting our
preparation and service change well
underway. When we look at the
series of milestones in the lead up to
2022, the new hospital seems just
around the corner. Through the next
few weeks a series of engagement
activities is planned with clinical
teams which needs to be the restart
of our programme development.
Midland Met offers more than a
hospital and the opportunities for
regeneration to improving the public
health of the communities it serves
are there, if we have the vision and
courage to take them forwards.
The NHS's 72nd birthday saw us say thank you to the communities and businesses who have
supported us during the pandemic
31

Hair today, gone tomorrow!
@SWBHCharity To donate
to the Your Trust Charity text
“SWBH16 £5” to 70070
Security Officer Kamal Deep shows
off her newly snipped locks after
having 24 inches chopped off for
charity.
Kay, as she’s known to her family and
friends, decided to have her luscious
locks lopped off after volunteering at
the Trust. She spent time in the pop-up
shop at Sandwell and witnessed the
good work that was being carried out.
As a result, she decided to dedicate
proceeds raised from cutting her hair to
the charity.
Liza Gill, Volunteer Service Manager,
who’s also a part-time beautician, carried
out the task at Sandwell Hospital.
Afterwards, Kay said: “I love my new
hair. I must admit I was a little bit nervous
when she started to snip away, as I’ve
had long hair since I was a child. But I’m
so glad to have had it chopped off for
a really good cause and, I'm proud to
support Your Trust Charity. I spent time as
a volunteer in the pop-up shop at the start
of the pandemic, and I have seen first-hand
the good work that they do.
“There are so many people who have
donated, including the domestics, ward
staff, my colleagues in security and catering
staff to name but a few. I’ve seen how
tirelessly colleagues work here, from
frontline healthcare workers to domestics.
I think that this is the perfect cause,
especially whilst the NHS is really under
pressure, trying to deliver the best care
possible during this awful outbreak. Lastly, I
would like to thank Liza for giving me such
Kamal Deep before and after the big chop
YOUR TRUST CHARITY
a fabulous haircut.”
Amanda Winwood, Fundraising
Manager for Your Trust Charity, added:
“We’d like to say a huge thank you to
Kay for doing this. It’s a very brave step
to have that much hair cut off in one
go. Kay has been a fantastic volunteer
throughout the pandemic and this just
shows her dedication to the Trust and
the charity.”
July 2020 staff lottery results
1st £186.25
Lucille Hedges
2nd £111.75
Jean Whitehouse
3rd £74.50
Carol Lucas
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.