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View Annual Report >Two hospitals caring for some of the region’s sickest patients are benefiting from the delivery of more than 20 new pieces of equipment, at an investment of more than £200,000.
The critical care departments at Heartlands and Good Hope Hospitals, both part of Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, received 11 new haemo-filtration machines and 10 new ventilators between them – further improving facilitates and providing an extra boost to the quality of care provided for critically ill patients.
Anne Mutlow, critical care matron, said: “These are vital pieces of equipment for our patients, so we are really pleased to receive this extra investment. Ventilators are used to support a patient’s breathing, while the haemo-filtration machines carry out the work of the kidneys if they have failed following an acute illness.
“Critical care at Good Hope is also due to move to its brand new unit, based within the new £26m ward block building at the Hospital, when it opens early next year. Currently under development, works on the new building are progressing well. All in all, the future certainly looks bright for critical care.”
NHS South Birmingham Community Health’s Learning Disability Service is launching a Single Point of Access for all referrals on 6 September.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC), organisation responsible for the licencing and monitoring of health and adult social care providers, has been introducing new standards of quality and safety across England since April 2010 – with NHS hospitals being the first to enter the new regulatory scheme. The five new standards for NHS hospitals are:
CQC has recently published a guide detailing what the new standards mean to service users.
Paper versions are also available by calling 0870 240 7535.
The Patient Environment Action Team (PEAT) gave South Birmingham Community Health Hospitals high ratings in its latest assessment. PEAT assesses all hospitals and in-patient units with more than ten beds.
South Birmingham Community Health manages three hospitals: West Heath, Moseley Hall and the Sheldon Unit. As part of the assessment, West Heath received three ‘excellent’ ratings (in cleanliness, environment as well as patient privacy and dignity). Moseley Hall and Sheldon were rated ‘good’ in environment and ‘excellent’ in the other two categories.
The bcda Learning and Development Service has limited places available on a range of short courses running in September and October. Prices range from £20 to £40. For more information, please contact 0121 303 0990 or bcda@birmingham.gov.uk.
new bus routes start on June 16th 2010 due to the opening of the new Queen Elizabeth hospital.
This group plans to have a very strong focus on the Dignity Care Campaign. Members also intend to work on the area of spiritual care provision, further enhance their network of contacts and identify any common issues affecting the Trust through its quarterly complaints records.
Information about the group’s plans and achievements in the financial year 2009-2010 can be found in the Annual Report.
The Saltley Interim Practice at Saltley Health Centre, Washwood Heath, will stop providing services after 24th May 2010. As a result, you will need to register with another GP practice.
Note: The deadline to register with another GP has been extended to Thursday 6 May. If you have not registered elsewhere after this date, you will be allocated another GP within the area.
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Three practices are located in the same building as the Saltley Interim Practice. Some are within walking distance of the Saltley Health Centre, but all of these practices are well served by public transport and accessible by car. Please call the practice of your choice with whom you would like to register and they will tell you what to do next.
NHS Birmingham East and North would like to apologise for any inconvenience this process may cause, however it is important that you register with another practice of your choice as soon as possible so you see a GP if you need one.
The previous GPs’ partnership came to an end in March 2009 and as a result your practice was managed temporarily by another GP practice as the ‘Saltley Interim Practice’. Following a public meeting, advertisements were placed for other GPs to manage the practice.
The number of patients registered at the practice has fallen significantly and continues to decline. As a result, NHS Birmingham East and North have decided not to proceed with the process and offer you the opportunity to register with another local GP practice.
If you no longer live within the area and none of the practices mentioned on the GP list are an option, and you require advice or guidance, please contact the Helpdesk at the Shared Services Agency on 0845 111 1200, when prompted press option 1. They will provide you with details of alternative GPs within your area.
Should you have any enquiries about local health services please do not hesitate to contact the Patient Advice and Liaison team (PALS) on either 0800 328 3205 or through the trust main line number 0121 333 4113 and ask to be transferred to the PALS team. You can also email PALS on palsbenpct@nhs.net or text on 07974 729108.
If you do not register with a practice by6th May 2010 we will give you a practice within the area. This will not affect your ability to register with a different practice after this date if you wish.
Please ensure that you register any children under your care who are currently with the Saltley Interim Practice with another practice of your choice.
Download information in Urdu.
Please note that these letters do not reflect the extended deadline.
| Platforms: | Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 |
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| Category: | PALS publications |
| License: | Freeware |
| Date: | March 5, 2010 |
| Platforms: | Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 |
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| Category: | PALS publications |
| License: | Freeware |
| Date: | March 5, 2010 |
| Platforms: | Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 |
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| Category: | PALS publications |
| License: | Freeware |
| Date: | February 25, 2010 |
| Platforms: | Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 |
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| Category: | PALS publications |
| License: | Freeware |
| Date: | March 5, 2010 |
| Platforms: | Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 |
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| Category: | PALS publications |
| License: | Freeware |
| Date: | March 5, 2010 |
Death is one of the few things all people have in common, regardless of their background or lifestyle. It’s also something a lot of people don’t like to talk about or even think about.
But dying shouldn’t be a conversation killer, and as part of the national Dying Matters week, John Taylor Hospice in Erdington is welcoming anyone to come along and find out more about what happens there, and some of the sensitive issues that come up at the end of life.
A drop-in session is being held between 11am and 2pm on Friday 26th March at the hospice’s day centre, in Grange Road. It will be an opportunity to chat in an informal environment and learn more about death, dying and the celebration of life.
Visitors are welcome from the general public, professionals, carers, patients and families – anyone who is keen or curious to talk and find out more about the help, support and resources available at the end of life.
Laura Tooley, deputy head of the hospice, said: “We know it isn’t easy to think about dying or serious illness, but talking about it can make a big difference. It has been said that what we fear most about dying is the sense of a loss of control. By empowering patients to express their wishes, that control can be restored. I’d encourage anyone to come along to the drop-in session.”
Hospice details:
John Taylor Hospice
76 Grange Road
Erdington
Birmingham
B24 0DF0121 465 2000
You can find more about Dying Matters at www.dyingmatters.org.
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See also: Night and day: Stories about life-threatening illness from Rosetta Life
For more information, please contact Sally Brooks, NHS Birmingham East and North External Communication
Residents living in Kingstanding and surrounding areas are set to benefit from NHS Birmingham East and North’s new GP practice when it opens today (Monday 10th May).
The Kingstanding Community Practice is based at Warren Farm Health Centre (in the same building as the Urgent Care Centre) on Warren Farm Road, Kingstanding B44 0PU. It will offer patients access to male and female GPs, a wide range of health clinics as well as extended opening hours including evening and weekend appointments.
Patients can register at the practice either in person or by calling 0121 382 5238. The practice will be open from 8am to 8pm Monday and Thursday; 8am to 6.30pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday; and 9am to 2pm on Saturdays.
The Kingstanding Community Practice is run by Assura Vertis LLP, a partnership between 23 GP practices and leading healthcare provider Assura Medical. The practice offers a full general practice service along with a range of specialist health clinics offering everything from minor surgery and stopping smoking to maternity services and child health.
Donna Macarthur, Director of Primary Care Commissioning for NHS Birmingham East and North said: “We are delighted to open our latest practice, which we are confident will benefit hundreds of people living in and around Kingstanding. The practice’s extended opening hours will allow people to get an appointment at a time that suits them – during the evenings and on Saturdays.”
Dr Ian Morrey, GP and chair of Assura Vertis, added: “We are very excited about providing patients in Kingstanding with high quality, easy and convenient access to a GP or nurse. We are confident that the extended our opening hours will make it easier for people to see a GP or nurse at a time more convenient to them.”
The practice has been developed thanks to extra funding from the national Equitable Access to Primary Medical Care programme, which aims to achieve more personalised care for everyone by opening general practices in areas with lower levels of GP provision.
The Kingstanding Community Practice
Warren Farm Health Centre
Warren Farm Road
Kingstanding
Birmingham B44 0PU
Tel: 0121 382 5238
http://www.kingstandingpractice.nhs.uk
For more information on NHS Birmingham East and North, please contact the communications team on 0121 380 9103.
Press enquiries regarding Assura Vertis to:
Russell Elliott, Assura Medical. Tel: 020 7107 3833
NHS Birmingham East and North is one of 153 Primary Care Trusts within the English NHS. As a trust it is responsible for the wise investment of public money to ensure health improvement, access to health services and where appropriate the provision of health services to a local population of some 438,000 people, across 17 wards across north and east Birmingham.
In summary we organise and fund the delivery of healthcare with the involvement of local people, maximising health outcomes for every pound spent – this is often referred to as commissioning.
Assura Vertis LLP:
Is a 50:50 joint venture partnership between Assura Medical and 23 GP practices.
It is an organisation which is a long-term, collaborative partnership between Assura Medical and more than 87 GPs to provide community-based services which offer patients additional choice.
Is run by a clinical management board (CMB) which comprises three GPs, a practice manager, a business director and an Assura Medical representative. Assura Medical provides all the necessary support in the way of funding, service and commercial expertise, IT, business processes and additional resources.
Also provides Echocardiography, Dermatology and Physiotherapy Services
As a partner to the NHS, Assura Medical has a track record of forming partnerships with groups of GPs in order to provide high quality and safe healthcare services in primary and community settings closer to the patient’s home.
Web: www.assuravertisllp.co.uk
Following the huge success of NHS Birmingham East and North’s campaign challenging people to quit smoking last autumn, the ‘Fight Back’ campaign is returning to the streets from 10th May.
The original campaign featured mobile exhibition units showing a film by the renowned directors Rankin and Chris Cottam, as well as posters with the face of a bloodied and beaten-up man and the tagline “When you smoke, it’s your insides that get beaten up.”
The result was a 68% increase in the number of locals setting a smoking quit date with their pharmacist, in comparison to the same period the year before. There was also an impressive 53% increase in the number of people who succeeded in meeting their four-week quit date.
The campaign will again be supported by local pharmacies and smokers will be encouraged to make use of the high quality advice and practical support available to help them to through the pharmacy stop smoking service.
Shazia Alam, Pharmacy Manager at the Co-Operative Pharmacy in Acocks Green commented: “The Fight Back campaign made a big difference to the number of people using our stop smoking service. We were able to help many more people quit smoking and it’s great news that the campaign has returned – I’m looking forward to welcoming many more people and working with them to help them quit.”
Making a return will be the shocking film created by Rankin and Chris featuring a smoker being beaten to a pulp by an invisible assailant, (a representation of the damage smoking does). The clip will be shown at mobile exhibition units from 15th May, challenging people to “Fight Back. Quit Now”, and not to let smoking ‘beat them up’. At these units people can get further information about quitting and test their carbon monoxide levels and lung age.
Aimed at men who smoke, the message is clear: you wouldn’t let yourself be beaten up on the outside like this, so why allow cigarettes do it to your insides? The campaign acknowledges that it’s a tough fight but by giving up smoking you can take charge of your life again. Text BEAT to 80800 to start fighting back and you will be sent information and details of your nearest participating pharmacy. Local pharmacies close to where you work and live can offer one-to-one support and advice, as well as provide over the counter Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) i.e. patches, gum, lozenges, inhalers (free to those exempt from prescription charges) for up to 12 weeks.
NHS Birmingham East and North is determined to build on its success to date in hitting targets, and achieve the lowest smoking prevalence of any core city in the UK by 2018. ‘Fight Back’ is a big part of reaching that goal.
Sally Brooks, Head of Social Marketing at NHS Birmingham East and North said: “The success of the last campaign was really inspiring. We were confident that the approach would work but it was great to see such a huge increase in people trying to quit. This second phase is important to remind people about the service and encourage more people to give it a go and fight back.”
By concentrating the campaign on Shard End, Kingstanding, Tyburn, Stockland Green, Washwood Heath, Hodge Hill, Acocks Green, Erdington, South Yardley, Stechford and Yardley North and Sheldon, NHS Birmingham East and North is looking to make a significant, positive impact on the health of the population. These areas have a high smoking prevalence and suffer greatly from health inequalities including the highest overall cancer and respiratory mortality rates, as well as the greatest incidence of cancer, stroke, respiratory, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic heart disease and emergency hospital admissions.
For more information, contact the communications team on 0121 380 0620
By texting the word ‘BEAT’ to 80800, smokers will be sent information and details of their nearest participating pharmacy. Local pharmacies near where you work and live can offer one-to-one support and advice, and provide over the counter Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) i.e. patches, gum, lozenges, inhalators (free to those exempt from prescription charges) for up to 12 weeks.
Known the world over for his iconic and intimate portraits and high profile pop videos, Rankin is not one to shy away from difficult subject matters. He has addressed issues from domestic violence to body image and shot prominent charity campaigns for Amnesty International, Everyman, Special Olympics, Oxfam, Teenage Cancer Trust, Refuge and Breast Cancer Awareness to name but a few. The work to be seen in east and north Birmingham this month will be his first tackling smoking.
NHS Birmingham East and North is one of 152 primary care trusts within the English NHS. As a PCT it is responsible for the wise investment of public money to ensure health improvement, access to health services and where appropriate the provision of health services to a local population of some 438,000 people, across 17 wards across north and east Birmingham.
In summary we organise and fund the delivery of health care with the involvement of local people, maximising health outcomes for every pound spent – this is often referred to as commissioning.
Smoking is one of the most significant contributing factors to low life expectancy, health inequalities and ill health, particularly cancer and coronary heart disease. It kills an estimated 86,500 people a year in England (one fifth of all deaths) and leads to an extra 560,000 admissions to hospital. In addition, smoking related illnesses account for 8 million consultations with GPs and over 7 million prescriptions each year.
Smoking disproportionately affects the least well-off, and more than half the difference in life expectancy between rich and poor in England is due to smoking. People on lower incomes are more likely to be highly nicotine dependent.
73% of smokers in the UK said that they would like to give up smoking completely.
Source: Evaluation of Stop Smoking Services in NHS Birmingham East & North, April 2009
Nationally, despite the numbers of people setting a quit date increasing overall from 600,000 in 2006/7 to 680,000 in 2007/8, the percentage of successful quitters after 4 weeks has dropped from 53% to 52% in the same time period. This trend has been consistent since 2003/4.
In the NHS Birmingham East and North area, the numbers of people setting a quit date also increased from 5928 in 2006/7 to 6975 in 2007/8, but similarly, the percentage of successful quitters after 4 weeks also dropped from 59% in 2006/7 to 52% in 2007/8.
The estimated current smoking prevalence within NHS Birmingham East and North is 28% or 84,000 people. Shard End has the highest prevalence within NHS Birmingham East and North of 38% or 7,450 people.
The Stop Smoking Service achieved its annual target of 3,641 people quitting for four weeks or more during 2008/09. The target was reached by smokers attending the range of stop smoking services provided across east and north Birmingham. This includes attending regular meetings at pharmacies, GP practices, and ‘Drop In’ clinics and receiving support from a stop smoking advisor.
Starting this Friday, 21 May, people heading to Broad Street or Sutton town centre for a night out will be presented with the dangers of becoming paralytic from drinking too much.
Through a mix of activity including real-life stories, posters and free food NHS Birmingham East and North will be alerting locals to the risk of allowing ‘another them to take over’. Postcards describing residents’ real-life stories of what happened to them after drinking too much will also be handed out in shopping areas and cinemas, alongside DVDs of a film by renowned celebrity photographer Rankin and co-director Chris Cottam who have both offered their time for free to support the campaign. The pair, who previously put their weight behind the ‘Fight Back’ quit smoking campaign last autumn to great effect, have created a hard hitting film showing the repercussions of getting too drunk, on what can often start off as a normal night out.
All activity will lead people to the website www.whoisincontrol.co.uk where the real stories from locals will be featured as confessional films. The website will also contain information on how people can avoid getting out-of-control drunk and background on the serious long-terms effects.
Posters and on-mirror signs will be displayed in toilets in popular bars, pubs and clubs, asking things like, “Who threw the glass that cut the girl’s face and scarred her for life?” and “Who was thrown out of the club and got into the man’s car and had sex she didn’t want?” they will encourage people to continue thinking about the risks of drinking too much alcohol.
Later in the month, installations set up in Broad Street and Sutton Coldfield will vividly bring home the things that can go wrong when you are out-of-control drunk. The installations will include an overturned car, bloody pavement and a smashed window.
It’s well known that simple things like eating before a night out, and drinking water throughout the evening can lower the risks of getting paralytic, so during the final weekend evenings of the campaign, a food van and a water truck will be touring the streets, handing out slices of pizza to locals visiting bars and clubs, and encouraging people to drink some water.
NHS Birmingham East and North’s latest campaign takes a unique stance, by acknowledging the fact that most people are already aware of the dangers of excessive drinking, and that going out drinking with friends is a socially important part of many people’s lives. As a result the Trust is not asking people to stop drinking, instead, they will be reminded of what can go wrong, and provided with easy tips on how to stay the right side of drunk.
Nicola Benge, Director of Health Improvement and Public Health at NHS Birmingham East and North describes the reasons behind the unusual tactics, saying: “We realise that excessive drinking is a problem across east and north Birmingham, but know we can’t ask people to stop drinking all together. We wanted to give people easy ways to remain more in control, and hopefully reduce the damage and pain that can be caused by becoming too drunk. This is part of the Trust’s initiative to help people take better care of themselves now and reducing unnecessary A&E treatments whenever possible.”
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For more information, contact the NHS Birmingham East and North communications team on 0121 380 0620 or email communications@benpct.nhs.uk
About NHS Birmingham East and North
NHS Birmingham East and North is one of 152 primary care trusts within the English NHS. As a PCT it is responsible for the wise investment of public money to ensure health improvement, access to health services and where appropriate the provision of health services to a local population of some 438,000 people, across 17 wards across north and east Birmingham.
In summary we organise and fund the delivery of health care with the involvement of local people, maximising health outcomes for every pound spent – this is often referred to as commissioning.
About Dr Foster
Dr Foster was first launched to the public in January 2001 with publication of the Hospital Guide. Since then, Dr Foster has published a series of guides detailing the availability and standards of local health services. The Hospital guide is now an annual publication which has done much to catalyze improvement in the NHS.
In 2006 Dr Foster Intelligence was launched as a public-private partnership that aims to improve the quality and efficiency of health and social care through better use of information. The partnership is in the form of a 50:50 joint venture with the NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care.
One of Dr Foster Intelligence’s key objectives is to promote the development of an information culture in the NHS by providing appropriate information and analysis to clinicians and managers in order to help them deliver the best quality healthcare.
In 2007 we were proud to win the Laing & Buisson award for innovation and in 2008 we won the HealthInvestor award for outstanding contribution to healthcare.
