Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, is one of the largest NHS teaching trusts in the UK. It includes three hospitals: Sandwell General Hospital in West Bromwich, City Hospital in Birmingham, and Rowley Regis Hospital. It is a large trust that is focused on research and education.
Research outputs for sandwell and west birmingham hospitals nhs trust
The Trust is committed to improving the care of its patients, and as part of this, they have created a series of initiatives to help patients stay healthier. These initiatives include care bundles, discharge checklists and community clinics. This trust has also been cited as an example of innovative and integrated care.
The Trust has three hospitals: Sandwell General Hospital in West Bromwich, City Hospital in Birmingham and Rowley Regis Hospital. The three hospitals together comprise the largest teaching trust in England. Together, they provide care for more than 530,000 people in the region. The Trust also offers care at a number of intermediate care sites.
Research conducted by the Trust is protected by strict data security standards. Only substantive employees of the Trust are allowed to access confidential patient data. It is stored on an NHS-encrypted “S-drive” server. All data stored on the server is password-protected and accessible only by NHS-encrypted computers.
The trust ensures that all data is pseudonymised before being made available to University of Birmingham staff. Once disseminated by NHS Digital, the data will be linked to no identifying information. This means that the University of Birmingham will only have access to pseudonymised data for analysis. The Trust also provides study IDs to facilitate safe data transfer.
Partnerships with schools, colleges and local authority
The Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust is an integrated care organisation dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of local people. The Trust employs 7,000 people and spends PS430 million on health services each year. It works closely with local schools, colleges and local authorities to develop and support innovative and community-based programmes.
The Trust has 900 beds and serves a population of over 500,000 people. It is a key partner in the ‘Right Care Right Here’ programme, which is aimed at transforming local health services and reducing the need for hospital care. This programme has resulted in new acute and community facilities and re-configuration of the trust’s community services.
The Trust is located in one of the poorest areas in England, with a high number of transient residents and low education levels. Widening participation is one of its key strategies, which benefits both the Trust and the local community.
The Trust has appointed two new Chief Executives. Maggie Porteous joined the Trust in May 2021 and has over 30 years’ experience in business. Before joining the Trust, she was Director of Shop Trade at John Lewis until 2020. She was also Chair of the John Lewis Foundation and Non-Executive Director of Silva Homes, a not-for-profit social housing association. In addition to Porteous, the Trust has also appointed Dr. Toni Schwarz, who is Dean of the College of Health, Wellbeing and Life Sciences at Sheffield Hallam University.
Commitment to equal opportunities policy
A commitment to equality of opportunity policy is an important part of a trust’s culture. Staff are expected to ensure the highest standards of care for patients, and there is zero tolerance for staff discrimination. To this end, all staff are required to take equal opportunities training.
The Trust’s recruitment process promotes equality of opportunity in all employment opportunities. Its Equal Opportunities promotion is carried out through recruitment literature, job advertisements, and visits to local schools and places of worship. In addition, a Ufi centre is located at the Trust’s site, which ensures that resources and facilities are available to people with disabilities. The Trust also runs a physiotherapy cadet scheme that recruits people from diverse backgrounds and encourages them to apply.
The Trust has a dedicated emergency services centre, which opened in April 2005. The centre has a comprehensive A&E unit, Emergency Assessment Unit and Cardiac Care Unit. It also hosts the Pan Birmingham Gynaecological Oncology Centre and a Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Centre. The trust has a comprehensive research programme.
Staff development is excellent. Individual training needs are assessed as part of annual appraisals. A comprehensive learning and development department has been established to support staff. It has also developed an effective study leave policy. Its staff attend off-the-job training at local colleges.
Training posts in medical specialties
Teaching posts in medical specialties at Sandwell and west Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust are available to qualified doctors looking to develop their clinical and teaching skills. The Trust has strong links with the University of Birmingham and Health Education West Midlands. Both are based at the Trust, and are looking to expand their research capabilities. Clinical teaching will take place across the Trust’s City and Sandwell Hospitals, and will extend to the newly opened Midland Metropolitan Hospital.
The Trust offers several medical specialties and ENT training posts. The Trust has two sites: City Hospital in Birmingham and Sandwell General Hospital in West Bromwich. The ENT unit covers both hospitals, and offers elective services in multiple subspecialties. It also offers a CESR in ENT for those who are working towards their core surgical training.
The Trust has also introduced a bespoke leadership programme run by the Royal College of Physicians. This one-year programme is open to all registrars at ST4 and above. It requires registrars to commit at least 40% of their time to management development. It also requires that registrars attend management meetings and undertake quality improvement work. This scheme also offers 10-days of formal training delivered by the RCP.
The Trust has also worked with community groups and migrant health workers. Through projects such as USE-IT!, it is helping to break down barriers that traditionally exist between NHS organisations and the community. The trust also provides support to health professionals who are pursuing higher education and accreditation.
Support for junior doctors
A number of junior doctors are claiming they were bullied or tricked into returning to work during a strike. This follows a level four incident at a West Midlands hospital, which called staff away from their picket lines. The Sandwell general hospital trust claimed that there was a surge in activity and that the staffing levels would make it unsafe to provide care.
The trust is committed to improving the lives of local residents and has a reputation for excellence in education, training and research. They currently employ around 5,000 doctors across the region and care for around 530,000 people. The trust also runs the City Hospital in the heart of Birmingham, which is home to the West Midlands Poisons Unit and the Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre.
SWBH offers a wide range of support for its junior doctors. It has a dedicated team of clinical and educational supervisors. In addition, the consultants are approachable and will give trainees opportunities to lead teaching and quality improvement projects. The trust also has a good reputation in national training surveys.
Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn has backed the junior doctors’ strike, showing his solidarity and support. Downing Street has also urged the BMA to return to the negotiating table, saying that the negotiations were making good progress.
Transport links
Moovit makes getting to and from Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust easy with free maps and directions. Download the Moovit app to find the best route, and get real-time updates along the way. Moovit is a city transportation app that makes it easy to find and use public transit to get to the Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS.
The trust is located near Birmingham, which provides easy access to major rail routes and motorways. Several commuter train services run directly into the city, including the Birmingham New Street station. Trains also run to and from Dudley and Sandwell. The HS2 rail system is expected to reduce travel times between the two areas.
In addition to enhancing cycling facilities, the trust is improving the public transport links to its four main sites. This includes improved cycling facilities at existing hospitals. Similarly, a new hospital is scheduled to be built near Tipton Great Bridge. However, the NHS trust will take some time before improving the travel infrastructure.
The trust will also improve its parking situation by redeveloping two of its sites. One site is an acute hospital, and the other will be an intermediate care centre. The trust will also redesign its administrative offices and car parks at the City Hospital and Sandwell Hospital. Ultimately, this will mean an increase in space for the trust and reduce the need for additional car parks.