Performance
Performance across the Trust
continues to be challenging in terms of reaching our diagnostic (DM01) and our Emergency Access Standard. There is much work to do to ensure we achieve these standards. Your help in ensuring patients are discharged earlier and getting to a bed on a ward in a timely manner is part of achieving success.
There are some great changes in services which are all improving flow, such as our rapid assessment bays in AMU, the frailty assessment unit, (FAU) and cardiac assessment unit (CAU).
Cancer metrics and Referral to Treatment continues to reach its trajectories. Thank you to everyone who assists with moving our patients through their treatment pathways.
Stroke service – one of the region’s best
Stroke services are still third best in the region and back up to level A. This
represents a massive achievement given the notorious capacity challenges quarter four always poses. The Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP) is a major national healthcare quality improvement. SSNAP measures the quality and organisation of stroke care in the NHS and is the single source of stroke data in the UK.
SSNAP measures both the processes of care (clinical audit) provided to stroke patients, as well as the structure of stroke services (organisational audit) against evidence based standards, including the 2016 National Clinical Guideline for Stroke. The overall aim of SSNAP is to provide timely information to clinicians, commissioners, patients, and the public on how well stroke care is being delivered so it can be used as a tool to improve the quality of care that is provided to patients.
As such, Dudley has shown itself to be one of the best in the region for stroke patients and is a credit to the hard work of the team with patient care always remaining paramount. I know imaging have been integral to achieving this target.
Here are some reasons we should be proud of our stroke services:
- We have twice daily consultant-led ward rounds where important clinical decisions are made.
- Our stroke unit takes an MDT approach
- We have specialist stroke nurse-led bleep cover for all stroke referrals actioned from the pre-notification from ambulance crew.
- Our specialist stroke-led therapy team work together ensuring the best outcome for all patients after a stroke.
- Our stroke co-ordinator ensures the service is delivered for patients from admission to discharge and, where there is room for improvement, the stroke co-ordinator gets the team together to put actions in place.
- Secretaries bring all referrals to the consultant’s attention and with the assistance of the specialist stroke nurse team, referrals are triaged immediately.
This is a service constantly striving to improve. Being at level A shows they are providing a gold standard service.
Mandatory Training
A plea from executives: if you haven’t carried out your mandatory training please do ASAP. Compliance for Data Security Awareness Level 1 training (IG) is now at 84.9 per cent. To be compliant, we need to be at 95 per cent so we still have a bit of a way to go and we’ve only got until tomorrow. So please, if you haven’t done your training, spare some time and do your training.
- 269 employees completed their Data Security Awareness Level 1 training in May via either eLearning or a face-to-face session.
- There are just under 700 employees who are required to complete the training now and a further 150 employees where there present training will expire in June.
Workforce matters
Staff appraisal: Following the theme of staff engagement, we are within the staff appraisal window that occurs every year between 1st April and 30th June. It is important that all staff have the opportunity to have an annual appraisal to ensure they are supported and have the opportunity for constructive feedback from their line managers. Therefore, please book your appraisal while the window is open and support your staff.
Developing Leaders Programme: Cohort 6 of the Developing Leaders Programme has now started and we are asking for expressions of interest from those who aspire to develop into a leadership role in the future. The interest in the programme and enthusiasm from staff shows how this has been an overwhelming success. If you are interested in developing your skills as a leader, please express your interest by contacting Rachel Andrew or Bernie O’Neil in the Learning & Development Team.
Birmingham Pride: The Trust was very well presented as part of the Birmingham Pride event on Saturday 25th May 2019. Our ‘Team Dudley’ was part of the NHS contingent supporting the Pride festivities and counted among the more 70,000 people attending. Plans are already in place to make next year even bigger and more exciting.
Non-executive director x 2 – recruitment: The date has been set to recruit two new non-executive directors. The interviews and stakeholder panel will take place on 4th June 2019.
Healthcare Heroes May 2019: Congratulations to May’s healthcare heroes! The Community Ears, Nose and Throat department received this month’s team award due to the team pulling together and supporting each other through a very tragic time for one of the team members. During this time the ENT doctors also played a key role in keeping the clinics operating despite the change in the support they received. This meant that patients continued to be treated.
Fiona Freeman, a Lead Nurse in the Acute Pain team, received the individual award after attending to a collapsed gentleman on the side of the road, who at this time had no pulse and had stopped breathing. Due to Fiona’s quick thinking and resuscitation skills, this meant that CPR was administered in a timely manner which ultimately saved the patient’s life.
Coming up…
Volunteers’ Week 1-7th June: The executives would like to say a big thank you to all our hard working volunteers. I would encourage you to spare some time to volunteer next week (from Monday 3rd) and help us mark Volunteers’ Week. Contact Jane Fleetwood on ext. 1887 or jane.fleetwood@nhs.net or Jill Faulkner on ext. 3200 or jill.faulkner1@nhs.net if you are interested in showing your support.
Staff Awards – Committed to Excellence 2019: Our annual staff awards has attracted almost 600 nominations from staff, visitors and patients. In honour of Steve Ford, we have renamed the award for volunteers, the Steve Ford Volunteer Award. Shortlisting begins soon and the winners will be announced at The Copthorne Hotel, Brierley Hill on 5th July. The event is, for the second year, hosted by BBC Midlands Today presenter Nick Owen. We wish all individual and teams who have received a nomination the very best of luck. The awards are our way of saying a big thank you for their dedication and commitment to providing the best possible care to our patients. They also shine the light on non-clinical staff who provide invaluable back office functions.