Healthwatch Sandwell Activity Report
1stJanuary 2016 to 31st March 2016
Contents
Introduction
Issues, Actions and Outcomes
Report into care at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust (SWBHT): ‘Why Do Good People Allow Bad Things to Happen?’
Other
Experience Gathering Review
Press Summary
Safeguarding Issues Raised and Action
Promotion and Engagement
Groups and Meetings Membership
Health and Social Care Group
Consultation Network
Volunteering and Enter & View
Media
Press Update
NB After consideration by the Healthwatch Sandwell Board, this report and the information within can be shared publicly, except where otherwise specified by the Board.
Healthwatch Sandwell
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© Healthwatch Sandwell CIC, 2016
1
Healthwatch Sandwell Activity Report
No 10: 31st March 2016
Introduction
Welcome to the quarterly Healthwatch Sandwell Activity Report 10. This report details the work of the team at Healthwatch Sandwell (HWS) and gives an overview of the team’s findings regarding health and social care issues in Sandwell, and their other work.
HWS is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the public's views on health and social care services in Sandwell. It ensures that the views of the public and people who use the services are taken into account by those who commission and provide services.
This report is considered and approved by the HWS Board. The board members are:
John Clothier (Interim Chair)
Doug Round (Vice Chair)
Wasim Ali
Teresa Culverwell
Bill Hodgetts
Kwadwo Osusu-Darko
Geoff Tranter
HWS Team are:
Mark Guest: Chief Executive
Lavida Fletcher: Office Manager
Anita Andrews: Information and Research Officer
Ian McGarry Communication & Engagement Officer
Tom Collins: Support Officer
Melissa Elders: Support Officer
Paul Higgett: Support Officer
We would like to thank Pam Jones (Chair) and Parminder Dhani (Board Member) for their hard work and commitment to HWS. They have decided to step down from their role on the Board after nearly 3 years. We wish them every success for the future and we are very grateful for their contribution.
We hope that you find this report informative, if you have any queries do not hesitate to contact us.
This and previous reports are available on our website:
Issues, Actions and Outcomes
Report into care at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust (SWBHT): ‘Why Do Good People Allow Bad Things to Happen?’
HWS concluded and published a report into people’s experiences at Sandwell Hospital. This report was initiated as a result from various issues being raised with us by the public during 2015.
The report entitled: ‘Why Do Good People Allow Bad Things To Happen?’ was published on 24th February 2016.The launch received press coverage which is detailed later in this report.
Our investigation found failures to provide appropriate nursing care, communications issues regarding patients and family, including end of life circumstances, and limitations in the complaints system.
The report recommended:
•The Trust should consider why these issues have arisen, and what can be/has been done to prevent any repetition, even if improvements have already been made.
•The Trust should consider why the culture leading to these failures has existed among staff i.e. Why do good people allow bad things to happen?
•The Trust needs to consider patients’ reluctance to complain, which patients sometimes attribute to fears of discrimination (which may be founded or not).
•The complaints process needs to be more explicit, clearly stating the steps involved, what can/will happen, and possible outcomes.
SWBHT responded to the report. They were disappointed to hear about the concerns that have been raised and would like to apologise to those who have received or observed care that is below the standards that all their patients should expect and deserve.
For full response see:
SWBHT stated ‘We welcome the support from Healthwatch Sandwell in listening to patients and contributing to our work of continual improvement across all the services we provide, that is in hospital, in clinics and in the community. We have invited Healthwatch Sandwell to repeat their study in summer 2016 to test independently whether the work to improve the care experience is reflected in patient feedback.’
HWS welcomes working with SWBHT and will continue to monitor patients’ experiences at Sandwell Hospital to ensure that all patients receive appropriate care.
For full report see:
On 31st March 2016, the report was an agenda item on the Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Board at Sandwell Council. John Clothier (Interim Chair), Bill Hodgetts (Board member) attended along with Mark Guest (Chief Officer) who presented the report’s findings and recommendations. Toby Lewis, CEO attended to represent SWBHT.
The above Board considered the report and it noted that the stories in the report could assist the Hospital Trust in delivering recommendations contained in the Report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry, chaired by Robert Francis, mainly about putting patients first. The detail and description contained in these individual stories was recognised as a valuable resource in delivering improvement, and a refreshing change from statistical information about performance.
The Chief Executive of SWBHT thanked HWS for the report and advised the Board that the Hospital did have some difficulties in obtaining feedback from patients and carers for a number of reasons. These included a fear from patients that any negative feedback may affect the quality of care they received.
Other
Walk-in Centre usage
We have previously reported that patients are visiting the walk-in centre in Parsonage Street, West Bromwich as they have difficulties getting appointments with their own GPs. As a result of this, HWS havecarried out research to find out why people use walk-in centres. Findings include that 42% of all walk-in visits were by patients registered at 6 GP practices.An interim summary report will be published in early April.
Oncology in Sandwell
We have continued to monitor this issue by requesting updates from the SWBHT to enable us to keep local people informed of developments. SWBHT confirmed that recruitment for the revised service was ongoing and that interviews had taken place. Two patient meetings were held by SWBHT in March; one at Sandwell Hospital and one at City Hospital. A Healthwatch Sandwell board member attended the meeting at Sandwell. The hospital trust was invited to our Health & Social Care Group meeting on 21st March. They gave an update on developments, details of further patient meetings and revised their frequently asked questions (this information has been shared on our website and on social media). We understand that further discussions are ongoing with NHS England and we will update the public as we receive information. We have been working closely with SWBHT to ensure that local people are kept informed of all future developments.
Care Quality Commission (CQC)
HWS are in regular contact with the CQC. This quarter we were asked to provide patient feedback about 3 local GP practices who were being inspected.
HWS provided appropriate comments from our user experience database, ensuring that the patient experience is represented.
Primary Care Co-Commissioning Committee
HWS raised the issue of patients not being able to get timely appointments and the perception of this under the risk register discussion. This has now been added to the register.
Countdown to opening of New Midland Met Hospital
Friday 22nd January 2016 marked the start of a 1000 day countdown to the opening of the new state-of-the-art hospital: The Midland Met.
To mark the event, SWBHT asked local representatives to unveil digital clocks at four main sites across the Trust to count down the 1000 days until the Midland Met is opened.
Chair of the Birmingham Health and Wellbeing Board, Cllr Paulette Hamilton unveiled the clock at City Hospital at 9.15am, whilst the late Leader of Sandwell Council Cllr Darren Cooper did the same at Sandwell Hospital. At Rowley Regis Hospital, James Morris MP for Halesowen and Rowley Regis, unveiled the clock and Bill Hodgetts from HWSdid the honours at Leasowes Intermediate Care Centre.
Credit to: SWBHT
Free Radio Interview with HWSon 31/12/2015
The CEO of HWS was interviewed for a programme on Free Radio based on research they had carried out into ‘Do Not Attends’ at Hospitals in the region. They had shown that the amount of DNAs was a sizeable cost to the NHS. HWS accepted that reasonable efforts need to be made to save money and prevent waste in the NHS. However, they need to understand why people are being recorded as DNAs which may not always be within their control e.g. difficulties in cancelling, health reasons making attendance difficult.
HWS Commendation
Sandwell Health and Wellbeing Board (28th January, 2016) received the Annual Report of Healthwatch Sandwell for 2014/15. HWS was commended for its work in making health and social care better for ordinary people. It also applauded its ability for making partners of the Board uncomfortable at times as was demonstrated when The Continuing Healthcare Maze report (July 2015) was presented. (Minute No. 8/16)
The Mental Health Crisis Care Concordat
The Mental Health Crisis Care Concordat is a national agreement between services and agencies involved in the care and support of people in crisis. It sets out how organisations will work together better to make sure that people get the help they need when they are having a mental health crisis.
In February 2014, 22 national bodies involved in health, policing, social care, housing, local government and the third sector came together and signed the Crisis Care Concordat. Since then five more bodies have signed the Concordat, making a total of 27 national signatories.
The Concordat focuses on four main areas:
•Access to support before crisis point – making sure people with mental health problems can get help 24 hours a day and that when they ask for help, they are taken seriously.
•Urgent and emergency access to crisis care – making sure that a mental health crisis is treated with the same urgency as a physical health emergency.
•Quality of treatment and care when in crisis – making sure that people are treated with dignity and respect, in a therapeutic environment.
•Recovery and staying well – preventing future crises by making sure people are referred to appropriate services.
HWS met with the CCG to discuss engagement regarding the concordat, as communications issues has been raised by ourselves and with us by other organisations. The CCG clarified that engagement had been ongoing, but were able to identify that there may have been administrative issues during handover from the Local Authority to the CCG. It was agreed that this could be resolved by the CCG cross-referencing participants from the different stages and reengaging.
Collaborative Working
A frail 97-year-old lady contacted HWS to request a trolley that could help her transport her meals from the kitchen to the lounge. She was signposted to Sandwell ASSIST for information about progress with the assessment.
In the meantime, the manager at Walker Grange, Central Avenue, Tipton managed to locate a spare trolley.It was arranged for it to be delivered to the lady while she was waiting for her own.
The caller was extremely grateful, and is an example of the many individual interventions and collaborative approach that Healthwatch Sandwell regularly takes to make a difference to patients and carers.
Signposting
HWS received a letter which outlined concerns about record-keeping by doctors at Sandwell General Hospital and the training of speech therapists.
HWS signposted the person to the relevant departments and this resulted in a letter of thanks for the information.
NB
Some details have been changed or generalised for data protection and privacy purposes.
Experience Gathering Review
The Support Officers have continued to meet with the public to listen to their experiences of health and social care. They have visited a variety of venues, which include libraries, supermarkets, community events and support groups, e.g. parkinson’s disease, arthritis and multiple sclerosis.
During this period a total of 75 venues were visited and over 126 people were spoken to about their health and social care experiences.
Melissa Elders, Paul Higgett and Tom Collins (Support Workers) at Sandwell Show
During this period the public have shared examples of good health and social care experiences, which is pleasing to note.
There was an increase in negative comments in March., This related to being unable to get an appointment with a GP. HWS are unable to comment why there was a higher incidence of this in March.
There was an increase in negative comments in March, this related to being
unable to get an appointment with a General Practitioner. HWS are unable to comment why there was a higher incidence of this in March.
The Support Officers engage with all sections of the community. The main group continue to be female aged 50+
Breakdown of Signposted activity
The Support Officers have continued to signpost the public to various places to help them with their issues.
The Support Officers have continued to distribute leaflets that give information about how to make a complaint to the NHS and leaflets about Time2talk – the Customer Care and Advice service provided by the SWB CCG.
Support Officers have signposted the public to the GP practice to resolve issues relating to GP services so that issues can attempted to be resolved locally in the first instance.
HWS engage in various ways in the community, this ensures that we are accessible to the people of Sandwell.
These significant issues are being followed up by HWS.
Press Summary
Wednesday 17th February 2016
Elderly hospital patients given eviction warnings
Amid soaring levels of 'bed blocking' in the NHS, elderly hospital patients are being warned that they could face eviction if relatives cannot find a care home within three weeks.
Hospitals have begun imposing eviction notices on frail elderly patients who are left on wards because relatives cannot find a satisfactory care home, an investigation has found.
Official NHS figures show more than 220,000 days of delays are being caused each year when patients are stuck in hospital because relatives cannot decide on a care home.
Hospitals in the West Midlands are warning elderly patients who need residential care that they could face legal proceedings if they are not out within three weeks of being declared medically fit.
Toby Lewis, chief executive of Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals trust, said its hospitals had introduced a system of warning letters, which attempted to ensure families had more time to find a suitable care home.
Source: Telegraph (Online)
Wednesday 17th February 2016
£800k Rowley Regis Hospital revamp nears completion
An £800,000 revamp of Rowley Regis Hospital to create new clinics, patient facilities and a bigger car park is nearing completion.
The overall works are due to finish in the second week of March and hospital bosses say the facilities will deliver many benefits for patients and staff.
Work started last summer at the Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust-run site to deliver more local services to residents – part of the trust’s longer term plan for Sandwell. It came at a time when there were fears amongst some patients the hospital could close.
But bosses hope the refurbishment will quell those worries and show the facility has a bright future.
Toby Lewis, chief executive of the trust, said: “Rowley Regis is a big part of our long-term 2020 Vision for the NHS in Sandwell.
Source: Express and Star (Online)
Thursday 18th February 2016
‘Overworked’ doctors on strike
“We are dedicated to our job but we are overworked and underpaid.” That was the feeling among junior doctors on the picket line outside Sandwell Hospital during a second national strike in the space of a month.
A group gathered with placards, banners and posters for the 24-hour walkout yesterday as part of the ongoing dispute over new contracts. The major sticking point in the dispute is over weekend pay and whether Saturday should be largely classed as a normal working day.
Junior doctors – all medics below consultant level – have accused secretary of state for health Jeremy Hunt of ‘trying to kill the NHS’ and feel they have been left with no choice but to strike.
Source: Sandwell Chronicle
Monday 22nd February 2016
Trusts warned over baby death rates
Two hospital trusts in the Black Country have been given ‘red light’ warnings for having high stillbirth and newborn baby death rates.
A report found for every 1,000 births at the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, which runs New Cross Hospital, there were 8.17 deaths per 1,000 births.
At Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs City Hospital, there were 6.77 deaths per 1,000 births.
Dr. Roger Stedman, medical director at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, said the Black Country had a history of high rates of stillbirth, neonatal, perinatal and infant mortality.