Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust

Joe Chadwick-Bell, our new Group Chief Executive, attended her first Trust Board meeting today. Next to her is Sir David Nicholson KCB CBE, Group Chair.

A new Chief Operating Officer (COO) has been appointed at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust. Will Roberts, who is currently in the position of Acting COO, will take up the role immediately. Will began his career in the health service as a management trainee after graduating from the London School of Economics with a degree in physics. He has since held NHS management roles at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, as well as Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Foundation Trust – in areas ranging from Trauma and Orthopaedics to Theatres, Anaesthetics and Critical Care. Link to full story: https://bit.ly/3UTxK4e

A first-time author has drawn on her young family’s experience of loss to help others who are coming to terms with challenges and difficulties – with a sprinkle of fairy magic along the way. Kelly Rickards is an Information Governance Officer at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust and is proud to have become self-published with her debut Adventures of Angie Amazonite. The story focuses on tinker fairy Angie’s desire to make a positive impact by sharing the uplifting energy of her crystal with others. She meets a diverse set of characters, each facing challenges and struggles, and uses the magic of affirmations and the radiant energy of her crystal to help them out, helping herself along the way. Link to full story: https://bit.ly/4hOCCBw

People suffering from sickness and diarrhoea are being asked to make sure they avoid seeing family or friends in hospital, and reschedule their own medical appointments, to avoid spreading infections to others. The plea has come from Chief Nursing Officers at Walsall Healthcare and The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trusts as they work with local communities to minimise the risks to patients at a time of year when many winter bugs are circulating. Norovirus, often referred to as the ‘winter vomiting bug’, is easily transmissible and cases result in wards and bed bays being closed, which places additional pressure on the NHS and its teams at an already busy time. Link to full story here: https://bit.ly/3CzFv9d

Extended visiting hours are being introduced at two Black Country hospitals from next week – following feedback from families, friends and carers who said they would welcome this opportunity. Walsall Healthcare and The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trusts will be offering this across general wards at the Manor and New Cross Hospitals from Monday 11 November. It means up to two people at a time will be welcomed from 11am until 8pm daily. The new arrangements won’t apply to specialist areas including Maternity, Neonatal, Paediatrics and Intensive Care, as these have their own visiting times in place to meet specific needs. The Patient Experience Team, which works across both Trusts, carried out a survey across the hospitals in the summer. As well as encouraging feedback from respondents, the team wanted to work to encourage visitors to be seen as “Partners in Care” and is also developing a “Visitors’ Charter.”

A world-renowned Black Country healthcare leader has struck gold by winning a special national award in a first ‘honours’ list for her profession. Dr Nicky Eddison, Consultant Orthotist and Orthotics Service Manager at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust and The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT), has won the inaugural Allied Health Professions (AHPs) Gold Award for Excellence 2024. Professor Suzanne Rastrick, Chief AHP Officer for England, personally selected the 22 winners to mark her decade in office, launching on the recent annual AHPs Day. In 18 years at RWT, Dr Eddison, 48, has transformed the Prosthetic and Orthotic Department from being its first full-time member of staff into a 15-strong operation, with the service also now covering Walsall. Link to full story: https://bit.ly/4efgKws

Patients in Walsall will benefit from a share of £30 million awarded to 36 NHS organisations in England for new medical equipment and technology. The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is supporting NHS Trusts to deliver cutting edge clinical research to improve the prevention, management and treatment of disease. It will also increase NHS capacity to deliver commercial clinical trials, which will bring innovative surgical techniques, medical implants and medicines to patients earlier. The research and development team at Walsall Healthcare, in collaboration with the department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, has now been awarded £183,000 which will go towards setting up a state-of-the-art Radiosterometric Analysis (RSA) lab for monitoring and assessing the latest in implant technologies in joint replacement. This will include complex 3D mapping software, calibration equipment and a mobile X-ray unit that will increase the Trust’s capability to carry out clinical trials in orthopaedic joint replacement technology. Until recently, this has only been available in around 15 large research units nationwide. Mr Fahad Hossain, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon and Director of Research and Development at the Trust who put together the bid, said: “It’s great news for our patients and our researchers here in Walsall. “The RSA lab will allow us to carry out a wider range of research studies in orthopaedics, providing the very latest in joint replacement care for our patients. “Anything that improves our research capability will have benefits for the whole community.”

Happy #Diwali to our staff, patients and local communities!

Mealtime Mates to support recovering hospital patients to eat and drink – as well as provide company and conversation – are being sought across two Black Country NHS Trusts. These volunteers will play an important part in the wider health and wellbeing of those recovering at Walsall Manor and Wolverhampton’s New Cross Hospital. Their role enhances The Royal Wolverhampton and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trusts’ Supportive Mealtimes Policy and kind, compassionate, encouraging volunteers are being invited to offer help. Garry Perry, Associate Director Patient Voice (Experience) for both Trusts said: “Encouraging patients to eat and drink is such an important part of their recovery as good nutrition can help to minimise tiredness, reduce risk of infection and reduce the length of their hospital stay. “We appreciate, however, that mealtimes can be difficult for some. They may need physical support, particularly if their conditions are restricting their movement, or more emotional support perhaps in the case of people living with dementia." Interested in becoming a Mealtime Mate? Please get in touch as follows: Walsall: Email – wht.voluntary.service@nhs.net Call – 01922 656689 Wolverhampton: Email: rwh-tr.volunteering@nhs.net Call - 01902 307999 ext: 88763, 07500 or 974526

“Without the help of charities, we would have really struggled when we arrived in this country – that’s why I want to give something back.” Dorcas is a much-valued volunteer for Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust’s Well Wishers charity and she is sharing her story this Black History Month. The mum of three came to the UK in May 2023, with husband Oriyomi and her sons, 10 year old twins and a seven year old. “When we arrived here, with very little, charities were our lifesaver," Dorcas, 41, explained. “I have never forgotten this experience. It is the kindness of people who give to charity shops to help someone else, the lovely volunteers who help out in them and the fact that people in our situation – or people struggling financially – have this lifeline. I went on the internet to see what I could do as a volunteer in Walsall, which is near where we live, and I saw this opportunity to volunteer for the Trust. “It is so important to me to pay back our gratitude, and my family’s wish, so a role as a charity volunteer was just the right fit.” Dorcas, who is a care worker, helps out each Thursday in the Fundraising Hub in the Manor Hospital. She sorts through donations, tidies up the hub and promotes the charity to patients, visitors and staff. Georgie Westley, Fundraising Manager, added: “We look forward to seeing Dorcas each week as her smile lights up the hub. And as she’s described, her and John make a great team which is lovely to see. Thank you Dorcas for supporting our charity and sharing your story with us.”