Summer is coming and with that comes the Friends of Solihull Hospital (FOSH) Association summer fete and there are plenty of fun activities on offer to keep all ages entertained while raising vital funds for the hospital.
The event takes place in the grounds of Solihull Hospital near to the main entrance on Saturday 4 June between 1pm and 5pm. The fete will include a bouncy castle, children’s fun races, face painting, a large range of stalls, the draw for the summer raffle and a display of vintage military vehicles.
Visitors will once again be able to enjoy performances from a diverse range of local groups, including music from Birmingham Irish Pipes and Drums, dance presentations from Planet Dance, a martial arts display by the Association of Traditional Martial Arts and a dog training demonstration from Hatchford Brook Dog Training.
Admission is £1 for adults, with accompanied children, staff and patients are able to attend for free. There is also free onsite parking while at the fete.
Liz Steventon, chairman of FOSH, said: “We are really looking forward to putting on another fantastic event for all the community in Solihull to come together for an afternoon of entertainment and to raise money towards new equipment for their local hospital.
“FOSH hold events throughout the year and are extremely passionate about supporting Solihull Hospital and it would be great to see as many people as possible turnout to make the summer fete another great success.”
If you would like to get involved in FOSH, please contact Liz Steventon on 07909 912525.
With Dementia Awareness Week in full swing 16 kind-hearted volunteers at Solihull Hospital began their journey to helping to prevent delirium, a common condition affecting up to one in three elderly patients.
Patients with delirium can be confused, agitated, drowsy, less mobile and they can experience frightening hallucinations. Although it’s a short-term condition, the effects can be long-term and extremely distressing, with potentially longer stays in hospital and a higher chance of developing dementia in the future.
Solihull Hospital has its own dementia and delirium outreach team and earlier this year appealed for volunteers to join the team by spending time on wards assisting elderly and frail patients, encouraging eating and drinking, helping with mobilisation and orientation and supporting activity such as playing card games or doing jigsaws.
The response from the public was fantastic and with it being the Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia Awareness Week it was the perfect time to invite the 16 new volunteers in for their induction.
Phil Hall, senior nurse for dementia at Solihull Hospital, said: “The name of the project is PREVENTS – it is a delirium prevention programme. This is our second batch of volunteers and we are really overwhelmed by the response. It is already making a real difference to frail and elderly patients as we aim to prevent delirium, which is a serious and common harm in acute hospitals.
“People see volunteering as an opportunity to really make a difference to people’s lives and many of us will have had relatives or friends who have been touched by dementia and delirium at some point so it is quite a personal thing to many people.
“It is also really about being part of the team in the hospital and having a really clear and defined role which I think the volunteers appreciate.”
Volunteer Carol Davies who has been working on the project said she would encourage more people to get involved.
He said: “I volunteer as part of the PREVENTS project and absolutely love it. We have a structure to our day and make a real difference to the experience and outcomes of the patients who we support. As a PREVENTS volunteer you are really part of the team in the hospital and get to work with some wonderful people.”
If you think you can offer your time and care to support elderly patients, please contact Phillip Hall or a member of the Dementia and Delirium Outreach Team on 0121 424 4277, e-mail phillip.hall@heartofengland.nhs.uk or follow them on Twitter @DADOTSH1.
The dedication and compassion of nursing staff at Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust was celebrated at an awards ceremony on International Nurses Day (Thursday 12 May).
International Nurses Day takes place every year, on the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth, and marks the contribution that nurses make to so many people’s lives.
Over 70 nurses, nursing staff and support staff working across the Trust were presented with Compassion Awards for demonstrating exceptional work ethic and consideration towards those they care for. Six extraordinary stories of compassion shown by Trust staff were showcased at the awards, including moving accounts from patients and families thanking staff who have looked after them from birth through to end-of-life. 
Compassion Award winners include Fred Bryant, a porter who showed great compassion and support for a ward manager and family involved in a mortuary viewing, Chris Jordan, a healthcare assistant who made Mothers Day special for one family and an AMU Short Stay nursing team who went over and above to help their colleague whose son died on their ward.
Julie Tunney, Deputy Chief Nurse, said: “Compassion is one of the hardest things to measure in healthcare but we all know when we have encountered it. So many of our staff go over and above their daily roles to provide compassionate care to patients that come into hospital and putting them at the heart of everything we do. At Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, we are very proud to be able to recognise and reward compassion.”
Locals interested in learning more about common sleep-related issues, have the chance to hear from a Good Hope specialist when the Hospital hosts a talk on the subject.
With more than a quarter of people in the UK suffering from sleep disorders, Dr Iyad Ismail, consultant in respiratory medicine, will be discussing common complaints ranging from snoring and sleep apnoea, to insomnia on Wednesday 18 May from 5pm.
Dr Ismail said: “Healthy sleep equates to a healthy life. A good night’s sleep gives the body time to rest and recover from the stresses of daily life. Not getting enough sleep, or too much sleep can affect your everyday life, your blood pressure, alertness, moods and road safety.
“It is important to know if you feel you get enough sleep and whether your sleep is of good quality. You’re probably not getting enough good quality sleep if you constantly feel tired throughout the day.
“I hope the seminar will open people’s eyes to the value of sleeping well and the many effective treatments we are now able to offer those patients in need.”
If you would like to attend the seminar, please contact Sandra White, membership and community engagement manager, on 0121 424 1218 or email: membership@heartofengland.nhs.uk.
The Trust – which covers Heartlands Hospital, Solihull Hospital and Good Hope Hospital as well as some community based services – runs monthly health seminars to help raise awareness of a range of health conditions, as well as providing information about the treatment and support that is available.
The hard work and dedication of midwives at Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust has been recognised with a special celebratory awards ceremony, held on International Day of the Midwife.
Taking place on Thursday 5 May, International Day of the Midwife marks the role that midwives play to ensure women and babies receive the quality care that they deserve. To celebrate, members of staff working in midwifery teams across Good Hope, Heartlands and Solihull Hospital as well as in the community were invited to an awards presentation.
Staff that demonstrated excellence in; midwifery care, compassion and kindness; midwifery leadership and innovation were recognised with a certificate and chocolates.
Among those recognised included supervisor of midwives, Natasha Stringer who was awarded the Leadership and Innovation award for her passion and commitment for driving a project to provide opportunities for women giving birth in theatres to have skin to skin contact, hugely improving patient experience for these women.
Community midwife, Joanne Smith received the student midwifery mentor of the year award. She was put forward for the award by a student midwife she had mentored for her approachable and positive attitude and going above and beyond the call of duty of ensure the members of her team are well supported practically and emotionally.
Joy Payne, head of midwifery at Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The passion and enthusiasm of our staff is really something to celebrate and International Day of the Midwife provides the ideal opportunity to give our staff a special treat. We are very proud of our staff and the compassionate care they give to all women and their families that come into the Trust. We wanted to recognise their unwavering commitment to a job that is not always easy.”
A new initiative encouraging patients to keep their medicines in distinctive green bags is set to improve medicines management and enhance patient safety at Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust.
Following a successful pilot, the green bags have been introduced at the Trust’s Heartlands, Solihull and Good Hope Hospital sites so that patients can bring their current medication with them to hospital and keep them together in one place. They can be used if they are admitted to a ward and taken with them if they move wards, as well as when they are discharged from hospital.
Using the green bag means staff will be informed what medication patients are taking at any given time. In addition, providing there are no changes made to a patient’s medicine, hospital pharmacies may not need to supply more medicines, meaning that the hospital discharge process will be quicker for patients too.
Typical green bag items can include prescription and over the counter medicines such as tablets, creams, ointments, herbal remedies, inhalers, patches, eye drops and sprays.
Clinical director for pharmacy at Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, Tania Carruthers, said: “Whether your visit is planned or an emergency, we would encourage patients to use the green bag provided to ensure your routine medicines and any that are introduced during your hospital stay, are kept with you throughout your hospital journey.
“It’s a simple scheme and by using the green bags, this will not only reduce the risks of missing or delaying medicine doses and result in enhanced quality of care and improved patient experience, it will also minimise medicine waste.”
Green bags will be given out at the Trust’s emergency departments, outpatients and admissions departments and by West Midlands Ambulance Service which will use them to collect medicines if patients need to go to hospital in an emergency.
See a fantastic film showing personal accounts of what it means to be a midwife shown during the Trust’s International Day of the Midwife celebrations: https://vimeo.com/165542545
As part of Dying Matters Awareness Week, locals are to be given an opportunity to speak to experts at Heartlands Hospital about death, dying and planning for the future over a friendly cup of tea and cake.
Staff from the palliative, elderly and chaplaincy teams will be on hand to offer advice and raise awareness about making plans for the future. Representatives from Macmillan Information Service, John Taylor Hospice, Marie Curie Hospice Painters, Co-op Funeral Homes and Kingfisher Nursing Home will also be present to support events throughout the week which will be held in the Main Reception foyer from 8am – 4pm between 09 – 13 May.
Visitors will have the opportunity to write on the ‘Before I die I want to….’ wall, and have a chat over a cuppa and cake in the ‘Little More Conversation Café’ area.
Helen Seymour, matron for elderly care at Heartlands Hospital, said: “Death and dying is still seen as a taboo subject. Giving people the opportunity to talk is really important. Making plans for our future and communicating our wishes can help towards us achieving the care and support we want, where we want it, at the end of our lives.
“Many of us are unprepared for this life event or need support to help make arrangements for end of life for either ourselves or our loved ones. Our events at Heartlands Hospital have been organised to offer those in our community who would like the opportunity to discuss death and dying.
“Local people and professionals are welcome to come and speak with our team, and pick up leaflets and useful information about how to plan for the future, and start conversations.”
For more information about the events, please call 0121 424 3770 or email ann.penson@heartofengland.nhs.uk/helen.seymour@heartofengland.nhs.uk.
