Chief Nurse blog: Conferences, new initiatives, flu protection, and passionate care

I was going to start this month’s blog by saying I’m not quite sure where September has gone, but it disappears at lightning speed every year, doesn’t it?

Despite it feeling merely a week-long, it was a month that was packed with quality time with teams across the organisation, new initiatives, and more progress and success stories for our wonderful colleagues at UHB.

In my role as Chief Nurse, I’m required to sit in a lot of senior meetings, with a lot of governance and busy agendas. That’s a crucial part of being a senior decision maker and being accountable, but it’s only one side of the job. The other side is where I get to be out and about talking to our people and our patients, seeing our services in action, and watching and supporting the immense teamwork at play. Like children, I probably shouldn’t have ‘favourites’– but that’s truly one of the best parts of what I do.

A few weeks ago, I went to see the new pressure-relieving equipment store over at Heartlands Hospital. Developed by our Medical Engineering Team, in partnership with Logistics and Portering Services, the new on-site store improves colleagues’ access to pressure-relieving mattresses and other related equipment, bringing a formerly external service, in-house. The introduction of the new store and processes will mean our patients have the right equipment without delays, which can help reduce the chance of pressure damage development.

I also had the pleasure of spending some time in the Dry Lab, which is based at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. Set up by one of our consultant ENT surgeons, Lucy Dalton, with support from colleagues across several surgical specialties, the Dry Lab uses state-of-the-art simulation and artificial intelligence to allow surgical trainees – and more experienced surgeons – to practise, refresh and hone their surgical skills in a training environment away from Theatres. Some surgical trainees were using the equipment at the time and shared how valuable it is, particularly for colleagues who may be spending less time in Theatre due to other commitments. One trainee who is currently studying for a PhD comes into the Dry Lab whenever he can to maintain his surgical skills whilst he’s involved in fewer patient surgeries. The clear commitment to maintaining and developing their skills was just wonderful to see and I look forward to seeing the Dry Lab evolve in the coming years.

I’ve talked about the wonderful work of our School of Nursing team before, but they excelled with this year’s School of Nursing Conference. Held at the University of Birmingham on 9 and 10 September, the two-day conference brought together our nursing, midwifery and AHP students and professionals. Focused on the key themes of ‘research and innovation’ and ‘celebrating learning’, colleagues heard from expert speakers, attended workshops and podium presentations, as well as taking part in wellbeing activities including yoga, mindfulness and reflection. I have to say the conference was a masterclass in interactivity, connection and knowledge sharing and I’m so pleased I got to spend some time there and witness first-hand the immense creativity and passion from all those involved and in attendance.

As we dive into October, we also dive into back-to-school bugs and, of course, flu season. I’m incredibly passionate about us as healthcare professionals protecting ourselves with the flu vaccine, so we in turn can protect our patients and our nearest and dearest. But I haven’t always been that way. Once upon a time I was sceptical, worried about the side effects.

That changed about 10 years ago, when my mother was very ill with breast cancer. She was very frail and weak, and I just couldn’t bear the thought of taking the flu home to her and making her more poorly than she already was. Not too long after that, my father-in-law was sadly dying and had been moved into a local hospice. The realisation that I could be taking flu to the hospice and shortening the very precious time that my husband and son, and other families might have left with their loved ones, was again unconscionable. So, I urge all my fellow NHS colleagues, whether frontline or not, to get their flu jab this autumn. If you work at UHB, you can find out more about where you can get yours, here: Winter (uhb.nhs.uk).

Finally, I wanted to finish on a truly heartwarming note. I was honoured to present a long-serving colleague with a Kind, Connected and Bold Award. Ann, Lead Nurse for Quality and Assurance, was chosen as a winner for the over-and-above care and thoughtfulness given to a patient. Whilst completing observations of care on a ward, Ann was talking to a patient who had surgery after having a fall at home. The patient had not had any visitors during her post-surgery stay. Ann could see that this was impacting how the patient was feeling and impacting their recovery. When the patient was moved to another hospital within our Trust for rehabilitation, Ann took the time to go to visit the patient – despite it not being her usual place of work. The selfless compassion and kindness Ann showed had a massive impact on that patient and is a wonderful reminder of the very special nature that many, many colleagues at UHB have.

That’s all for now, but I’ll be back next month with more updates on life at UHB. Take care.

M