The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust

A self-management programme to help people cope with fatigue following a stroke is being developed with the help of Wolverhampton NHS staff and patients. The research programme, named COMbAT Fatigue, has been awarded £2 million by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and Stroke Association.

They care for more than 3,000 sick children across Wolverhampton, help prevent hospital admissions and have recently increased their team to 27. Dubbed “absolute oracles”, 27 Paediatric Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNSs) work across 14 specialties for The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT), based at New Cross Hospital or the nearby Gem Centre. Their specialties are Diabetes, Epilepsy, Respiratory, Rheumatology, Cystic Fibrosis, Bladder and Bowel, Oncology, Dermatology, Haematology, ADHD/Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Endocrine (glands which release hormones into the bloodstream), Transition, Palliative Care and Child Death. Now there is a Trust-first CNS in Cardiology, Nikki Hewitt, and another Haematology CNS in Tracy Smith. That means this team will have doubled from 13 since Kirsty Lewis, Senior Matron for Children’s Services at RWT, started in January 2022. More than 500 of those 3,000-plus children have epilepsy, while the fact eight are Diabetes CNSs is a reflection of the scale of that condition. Mum of two Kirsty, from Shifnal, says the specialist skills and care the CNSs offer provide a vital service for young patients. “Children are now living with more complex medical conditions than ever before and that’s a credit to medicine and advances in healthcare,” said Kirsty. “But with these come complexities and challenges in their childhood. “These require sometimes daily input, and the importance of the CNS role is having that key person families can contact. “They provide support with anything from prescriptions and medication, even delivering training to schools and families, as well as supporting with acceptance of a diagnosis. “We are also able to offer more bespoke and much needed support to families at the end of a child’s life and beyond with support from our Palliative care nurse and child death nurse. “They ensure safeguarding requirements are met, and they help with transition from child into adult services where patients are managing their own conditions. “A number of CNSs have advanced qualifications, so they can prescribe drugs, make assessments of patients in the home, in a clinical environment or on the ward. The advanced skills they hold allow them to develop plans of care in conjunction with the patient and their families.. “They also liaise with other professionals, such as social care and education. “The growing population of Wolverhampton means they have very big caseloads of patients who all have challenges and things they need support with. “This is why the CNSs are the absolute oracles of what are sometimes lifelong conditions.” Kirsty is convinced the CNSs are changing people’s lives for the better. “I’m passionate that if we get healthcare right for children and young people, it will stand them in good stead as adults,” she added. Link to full story: bit.ly/3W8NX5v

A football fan who received life changing medicines made from plasma while he was being treated at New Cross Hospital has been surprised by his favourite Wolves player Hugo Bueno. After hearing about Oscar Eckersley’s story, Hugo made arrangements to meet the nine-year-old and played football in the park with him – a “fantastic” tonic for the youngster.

A trio of Wolverhampton-based healthcare professionals who cover three Midlands NHS Trusts have gained national awards in fire safety. Lucy Gannon, Adam Wakefield and Jordyn Yildirim from the Fire Safety Team, which covers RWT, Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust and Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, were nominated for learning and development awards for those new to fire safety. The three, who are based at New Cross Hospital, were nominated by Philippa Hayward, who leads a 14-strong team as Group Head of Fire Safety Services. They all passed the Level 3 Fire Risk Assessment course and have completed fire door and passive fire protection qualifications. Their awards were issued by the National Association of Healthcare Fire Officers (NAHFO) at its annual conference in Newcastle. “I am immensely proud of Lucy, Adam and Jordyn,” said Philippa. “As a team we have over 120 years’ experience in fire safety, and we want to impart our knowledge to rising professionals new to the field. “Winning a national award is a fantastic achievement for the individuals and for us as a service. “At the NAHFO annual conference, the Chair spoke of the vital need to invest in new Fire Officers and it was a fantastic opportunity to share our experience with our peers from NHS Trusts nationally.” Lucy, 20, from Cannock, joined the Trust at 18 as the NHS’s first Fire Safety Advisor Apprentice. Previously a Physiotherapy Assistant, Adam, 32, from Stafford, replied to an advert to be a Fire Safety Advisor Trainee. Jordyn, 23, from Sedgley, joined the team as its Administrator but was soon promoted to Fire Support Safety Officer. Link to full story: bit.ly/3yarOM8

Young “inspectors” spent a busy day reviewing Paediatric services at New Cross Hospital – impressing healthcare staff with their observations and ideas. Through an innovative engagement and involvement project called Little Voices, children from Wodensfield Primary School in Woden Avenue reviewed Paediatric services at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) before feeding back their findings to senior healthcare leaders. The multi award-winning Little Voices initiative was developed by the Patient Relations & Experience Team at partners Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust but this is the first time it has been used at RWT. Eight inspectors from the school council in Years 3 to 6 – pupils aged seven to 11 – complete with hi-vis jackets inscribed ‘Little Inspector’, lanyards and clipboards, visited Paediatric Assessment Unit, Ward A21, Children’s Outpatients and Ward A23. The children observed the importance of hand hygiene, whether they felt safe, whether staff smiled, how staff engaged with each other and patients, whether staff spoke directly to the young patients and whether there were any breaches of uniform policy. Kirsty Lewis, Senior Matron for Acute Children’s Services at RWT, led them on the tour. She said: “We’re used to having regular audits of our services but they are more formal and corporate, so having the children feed back gave a fun element to it, as well as a different voice. “The children were given access all areas and talked to Doctors, Nurses and patients to find out how they were spoken to, even whether they found any dust! “They inspected and made beds and looked in store rooms. “In the afternoon they tasted food being served to patients before meeting with leaders to discuss their findings.” The children presented their inspection to Debra Hickman, Chief Nursing Officer, Jodie Winfield, Deputy Head of Nursing for Adult Community and Primary Care, and Dr Cathy Higgins, Divisional Medical Director and Consultant Paediatrician. Feedback was collated by the senior leaders and sent to the Patient Experience Team which will compile a report to be presented at Trust Board. “The amazing thing was their honesty,” added Kirsty. “It was pure, honest feedback on our service and they were so enthusiastic and engaging. “They told us that Nurses need to smile more! One boy was asked to pull the emergency buzzer and when all the staff came running to where he was, he said that made him feel safe. “Mr Gould, the Deputy Headteacher who accompanied the children, said how important it is for education to happen outside of the classroom and how good it was for the children to communicate with adults and other professionals.” Liam Gould said: “Visiting New Cross Hospital was an invaluable experience for our school council members." Link to full story: bit.ly/3YamZx1

A Nurse whose young daughter died is now helping to care for very sick children in an “amazing” role new in Wolverhampton. Nikki Hewitt’s daughter Bethany was just two when she died. The devastating loss led to a career in intensive healthcare and the mum of four, 37, is the first Paediatric Cardiology Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT). Nikki, from Cannock, trained at New Cross Hospital, where she is now based. “When I lost my daughter I felt like I had nothing,” said the mum to Katelyn, 18, step-daughter Poppy, 11, Renesmee, nine, and three-year-old Luna. “Nursing wasn’t something I’d thought of, but I applied for the course a month after. “I was accepted and everywhere I went on placement, I loved it. “But I always felt more drawn towards sicker children. That’s why I went to work in intensive care at Birmingham Children’s Hospital (BCH), for 11 years. ITU felt like home. “We used to do all the chest closures (where the breastbone is closed after heart surgery), and watching a baby’s heart beating, I found it incredible’.” Nikki took her expertise abroad too. She was invited to Jamaica to support Nurses with post-operative patients by charity Chain of Hope, which supports families of those needing heart surgery. But she has found her next calling at Wolverhampton. “I thought ‘what an amazing opportunity – a place I can really make a difference doing Cardiology, something I truly love, and supporting a better work/life balance.” “There’s a lot of families with chronic congenital heart conditions which are life-shortening and they need support. “Until now, Wolverhampton didn’t have that. There are other things to be put into place, such as supporting teenagers with transitioning from children’s services to adult services. “Also supporting families through the ‘flow’ – whether antenatally I can be there straightaway, rather than the families having to go to BCH and returning here.” Nikki says her loss helps her in her job now. “I thought it would help me with the parents but it actually helps with the staff, to explain to them that they don’t know what it’s like to live with these conditions, because it affects every bit of your life,” she said. “When a parent is irate, they might not have slept or ate properly for days or worked and money’s tight. Hopefully I can provide that understanding between the medics and the parents. “I would never be doing this if it wasn’t for Bethany.” Bethany was born with gastroschisis, where the intestines stick out through a hole in the belly wall, a one in 5,000 birth defect. Transferred to BCH, she lost most of her bowel and suffered liver failure, before having a liver and bowel transplant. The family lived in the Intensive Care Unit at BCH for eight months as Bethany suffered more problems, needing a tracheostomy. She contracted sepsis and died at two years and three months in September 2009. Link to full story: bit.ly/4f3cYI6

Patients needing ultrasound scans in Wolverhampton no longer have to wait more than six weeks after an “incredible” turnaround. A series of initiatives over the last year have helped transform The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) to become one of the best NHS Trusts in the West Midlands for shortest patient waits for this test. Some of those initiatives have now been recognised by NHS England and put forward as practices to follow nationally. Among the 13 West Midlands NHS Trusts, RWT has gone from second from bottom in the league table in April 2023 for the percentage of patients being offered an appointment within six weeks (35 per cent), to 100 per cent of patients being offered an appointment within six weeks in April 2024. According to the latest benchmarking data, that would put RWT at the top of the performance table. Glen Whitehouse, Group Manager: Diagnostic Services, said: “A year ago we had thousands of patients waiting for an ultrasound, and many over 13 weeks. “As of April, no patients are waiting longer than six weeks and that will make a huge difference to patient outcomes and experience. “This has been achieved by the incredible Ultrasound Team, which has implemented new processes.” Lucy Willcox, Head of Operations for Radiology, said the turnaround had been down to the “invaluable” contributions of Karen Hill, Superintendent Ultrasound, and Tash Smith, Deputy Ultrasound Superintendent, the Bookings Team, the Senior Management Team, Sonographers and their Assistants. Among the changes that have been made are: • Recruiting nearly 20 “exceptional” Sonographers in the last 15 months while maintaining recommended scan times • Expanding the training programme and guaranteeing suitably planned training lists • Supporting flexible working • Implementing Radiology Events and Learning Meetings (REALM) meetings • Regular staff meetings • Created protected vetting time • Adding Flow Co-ordinators to the team • Improving the leadership structure • Putting on special events, such as the Physiotherapy Lead, MSK welfare session and lunch-and-learn sessions from manufacturers. The following initiatives are now being recognised by NHS England: • Partial booking • Flexible working • Weekly meetings to review performance • Improved its recruitment and retention to go from significant vacancies to almost none Partial booking involves writing to the patient and offering them the opportunity to phone in and make a mutually convenient appointment, rather than sending out a fixed date and time. Glen added: “This has been a large contributor to the success of the department but has been a massive undertaking for the booking team, which has had to completely change its way of working. “Often this method of booking can be very intense as we can’t predict when patients will phone, making the workload far less consistent than the traditional method of booking. " Link to full story: bit.ly/46n9nAR

A New Cross Hospital Porter is set to start his new career as a Doctor – after being inspired following his diagnosis of Crohn’s Disease. Ali Sidat, 23, graduated this month after five years at the University of Birmingham Medical School. He will now spend two years on rotation, looking to specialise in gastroenterology. Since April 2020, Ali, from Palfrey, Walsall, has also been working as a Porter at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT). “I have enjoyed New Cross Hospital – there is a great Clinical Fellowship Team there, the best I have come across – and the facilities, teaching, culture and people are superb. It’s a very supportive environment. “So I’m hoping to work at New Cross for my next year and Walsall Manor the year after. “Being from Walsall, I want to give back to my own community to help the people there.” Ali has always worked alongside his studies. Starting at IKEA at 16, he became unwell with his Crohn’s but completed his A levels and became a home tutor, helping GCSE pupils and mentoring medical students. With the COVID-19 pandemic, Ali found himself out of work due to the introduction of predicted grades for students. But the university asked him to help out at hospital so he went to New Cross and was asked to work a Porter, specialising in the CT (Radiology) department. “I can’t speak highly enough of the people I work with,” said Ali. “I would call them more friends than colleagues. “Porters have humility. A lot of people who do it have a smile on their faces and that tells me they’re content. This means more than money.” Ali added: “I genuinely enjoy my job and I wake up with a smile on my face knowing I’m going to work. I will miss it. “I know being a Doctor will come with more pressure but I hope, because of some of the skills I’ve picked up, I can translate that into my practice.” Portering has already helped Ali in his development as a Doctor. “I tend to perform better in my practical exams – a lot of the feedback around my rapport and communication with patients is really good. I feel that’s directly related to my job as a Porter,” he said. And fellow Porters are delighted to see Ali become a Doctor. He said: “They are chuffed for me. When I passed, I posted on social media and my mum was in tears reading the comments because they were so heartwarming and touching.” Being diagnosed with Crohn’s at 14 gave Ali a focus he wasn’t expecting. “When I was speaking to the Doctor and he told me the steps I’d got to take, I followed through with it,” he said. “It make me think that I wanted to help people who had got what I had, hence my ambitions to get into gastroenterology.” Full story on our website.

A proud aunt whose highly decorated worldwide healthcare career started in Wolverhampton is passing the Nursing baton to her niece. Janine McKnight, 65, is due to retire in October after 46 years spanning three careers and is delighted to see niece Tegan Wood, 18, take her first steps in Nursing. Janine handed over a fob watch to Tegan that she had been given by her parents 46 years ago. Tegan, who was born at New Cross Hospital and like Janine is also from Wednesfield, has just completed a BTEC in Triple Health and Social Care at Ormiston SWB Academy, Bilston. She has been awarded additional funding to support her studies on a BNurs (Hons) Mental Health Nursing degree at the University of Birmingham after passing a test. And Tegan is prepared to return to where it all started for her aunt four and a half decades ago. “I would be interested in gaining experience at New Cross in a mental health nursing capacity in the future,” she said. Janine said: “My mum and dad gave me this fob watch in 1978 and I’m proud to pass it on to Tegan. She is a bright button who has always dreamt of becoming a Nurse and I have nurtured her.” Mum of two and grandmother of four Janine trained at New Cross Hospital from 1978 to 1980, having grown up in nearby Graiseley Lane, Wednesfield and attended Wednesfield High School. Transferring on qualifying to live and work in Tamworth and Burton Hospital as an Enrolled Nurse, she then re-trained as an RGN in 1994 at Good Hope Hospital. The following year she left to re-train as a Midwife at Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham. After five years she changed direction again and re-trained as a Health Visitor, until retirement in 2019. In 2001 Janine, who now lives in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, started on her third career in the NHS when she became a Health Visitor before initially semi-retiring in 2019. Returning during the COVID-19 pandemic, Janine was appointed Personalised Care Manager at Derbyshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) before becoming a freelance Caesarean Section Recovery Coach, which she still does. In 2009 Janine was Invited to speak Internationally on Premature baby care and breastfeeding, she went to Venezuela, Mexico and Colombia to deliver teaching to over 1,000 nurses and carers. Janine became a Queen’s Nurse in 2010 for her work through the Royal College of Nursing on the shaken baby syndrome programme, on which she was invited to speak in Atlanta, USA. Another two accolades came her way in 2019. Janine won the Community and General Practice Nursing category of the RCNi Nurse Awards for developing the Five Guide, a simple tool that encourages maternity clinicians to use their own hand and five digits as a communication guide to enhance recovery and safeguard women from infection after a caesarean section. Later that same year she was awarded a British Empire Medal, by Her Majesty the Queen, for ‘services to Nursing’. Full story on our website.

A mental health team providing patient care across Walsall and Wolverhampton has been recognised for the “gold standard” service it provides. A report from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found the Older Adults Mental Health Team, which is employed by Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust and The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT), to be fully compliant and not required to complete any actions, following an inspection. The compliance means both Trusts can safely care for patients under the Mental Health Act. The team has a focus on those with delirium/dementia and complex patients and offers mental health support and guidance to the wider Trusts when required. There are two parts to the service –mental health all ages and older adults. It works with patients, their loved ones and carers, Trusts’ security staff, all stakeholders including social care and the Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust to provide specialist care. It also provides training to staff, including both Trusts’ Boards, in dealing with mental health patients. A celebration lunch was held to recognise the 16-strong team, which was joined by Caroline Walker, interim Group Chief Executive, and Dr Manjeet Shehmar, Chief Medical Officer at Walsall Healthcare. “I’m really pleased to be able to celebrate what is a great achievement to have this service validated externally with these results,” said Ms Walker. “A lot of work has been carried out and improvements made for people with mental health problems. “This is team-based multi professionals working together which is the gold standard and that’s what is happening here. “You don’t get recognition like this without doing it as a team so I would say a huge thank you on behalf of the patients and the Executive Team. Keep doing what you’re doing.” Dr Shehmar added: “This is a hugely proud moment for us all. This is the team that never stops – you all work over and above and that is recognised throughout the Trusts because people tell us and you’re so visible. “You treat each patient as your own loved one and your support and kindness has made a huge difference. Thank you.” Led by Jodie Kirby-Owens, Head of Nursing for Mental Health at both Trusts, the team comprises 11 Registered Mental Health Nurses (RMNs) – including two at RWT – two Administrators, two Mental Health Act Administrators and one Governance Manager. The team has increased from six when Jodie joined it in 2020, since when it has expanded to cover RWT. “We have a really special team and staff complement each other. The team fiercely advocates the patient and there’s not a day goes by where a decision on a patient doesn’t involve a loved one.” The team supports with education and training for younger patients and works with the multi-disciplinary team to care for them, as well as providing assessments on older adults. Full story on our website.