Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham

𝐏𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐮𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 🗞️

Check out the latest edition of our hospital newspaper, 𝘜𝘏𝘉 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥, which is out now!

This month’s edition is full of inspiring stories and important updates from across our hospital, like how our Enhanced Peri-Operative Care Unit (EPOC) team celebrated a huge milestone last month, caring for their 4,000th patient.

You can grab a copy of 𝘜𝘏𝘉 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 when visiting our hospital, or read the latest edition online via the link in the comments section. 👇

Major milestone for Team EPOC 🌟

Colleagues on our Enhanced Peri-Operative Care Unit (EPOC) reached a huge milestone last month, caring for their 4,000th patient.
EPOC was established in 2020 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw increased pressures on critical care services across the Trust. The 10-bedded unit cares for high risk, complex patients, ensuring they can be safely managed away from critical care.

Recently, EPOC expanded its services to host an intravenous iron clinic every Monday. This clinic supports patients with anaemia who are due to have a surgical procedure at the hospital soon by helping to increase their recovery time and reduce the need for post-operative blood transfusion.

Katrina Shirley, Enhanced Peri-Operative Care Unit Manager, said: “We have a wide range of colleagues, both clinical and non-clinical, who work extremely hard to keep EPOC running and are integral to the milestone of having supported 4,000 patients. I’m really proud to be part of such a passionate, dedicated team.” 💙

The Festival of Lights, also known as Diwali, is one of the most popular festivals in Asia and is a time for celebrating by Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains.

Diwali signifies the spiritual triumph of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.

The Sikh celebration known as Bandi Chhor Divas ("Day of Liberation") commemorates the day when, the sixth Guru of Sikhs, was released from Gwalior Fort. The Hindu festival of Diwali often coincides with this day.

We wish everyone celebrating a very happy Diwali.

To mark World Stroke Day, hospital colleagues have been raising awareness of the symptoms and risk factors of stroke.

At Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, members of the public have been talking to our team about stroke prevention and having their blood pressure and pulse checked.

Members of the team are also taking part in an eight-hour static bike ride to raise funds for QEHB charity.

If you are in the atrium at QEHB today, why not drop by and find out more!

Congratulations to Andy Dakin, from our video team, who won an award at the Institute of Medical Illustrators’ annual awards.

Videographer Andy won the Gabriel Donald Graphics Award, which is given to the best art or graphics entry that shows innovation and extra creativity. Andy’s pen and watercolour illustration of a videographer working in theatre received this special merit and he was given a certificate and a trophy.

🤝 Senior People Partner 🤝

We have a fantastic opportunity at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham for a progressive-thinking, people-centred leader to join as Senior People Partner.

Reporting into the Associate Director of People for the hospital, you will be integral to our people priorities to support the Trust's ambition, as well as providing attention to local priorities, challenges, and opportunities to help create the best and safest place to work.

It is an exciting time to join us to help with scoping and shaping our people journey and workplace culture our to enable us to continue providing excellent patient care.

To find out more about this new role, and to apply, visit the link in the comments below 👇

A dedication of a buddhist wall hanging, called a thangka, was held at the Faith Centre, at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, on Monday.

The thangka, which was made in Tibet, depicts the Medicine Buddha, and was given to the chaplaincy team by patient Chris Allcott.

The donation was a thank-you for the compassionate care she received from the chaplains and medical teams while she was a patient at QEHB.

A special event took place on 14 October, including a ceremony and dedication in the Buddhist tradition, as well as conversation and celebration.

In a week that we have been celebrating our Allied Health Professionals (AHPs), we’re proud to share that our teams secured second place at the recent Chief Allied Health Professions Officer Awards 2024! 🏆

Well done to everyone in our Therapies Practice Placement Team, alongside the clinical teams from Health Care for Older People at Good Hope and Queen Elizabeth Hospitals, Short Stay at Good Hope Hospital, Medical Inpatients at Solihull Hospital, and Trauma and Orthopaedics at Solihull Hospital.

This recognition highlights their innovative work in evaluating student and patient needs, creating a structured and supportive learning environment for the workforce of the future. The teams have increased the number of practice-based learning opportunities, all while maintaining a high standard of care and focusing on reconditioning and putting people first. 🙌💙

Congratulations to Dr Cristina Ronchi on her prestigious network presidency! 🤩 🎊

Cristina, who is Honorary Consultant Endocrinologist at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB), has been elected the first female president of the European Network for the Study of Adrenal Tumours (ENSAT).

Cristina is an academic clinician, who splits her time between QEHB, where she leads the multi-disciplinary adrenal tumour team, and the University of Birmingham, where she is Associate Professor for Endocrine Oncology.

Having worked at QEHB for seven years, Cristina has cared for patients with adrenal tumours, both cancerous and benign, across the UK.

Cristina has been member of the European Network for 12 years. She told us: “It is a real honour to take on the presidency of ENSAT. I have seen first-hand the benefit of the knowledge sharing and collaboration opportunities the network brings. I’m hopeful that this new role will benefit our patients at QEHB, by opening up further research opportunities, and that it will help ensure we remain at the cutting edge of endocrine care.”

Find out more in the link in the comments 👇

Today is and we're saying a huge thank you to all of our Allied Health Professionals (AHPs)!

AHPs are made up of 14 different professions and play a vital role in the care and recovery of patients.

They come from many different professional backgrounds, including dietitians, occupational therapists, operating department practitioners, orthotists, physiotherapists, radiographers, speech and language therapists, and more.

Together, they play a vital role in the care and recovery of our patients, and are the third-largest staff group in the NHS! 👏 💙

We are holding a Service of Remembrance and Thanksgiving to honour and remember all those who have passed away at Queen Elizabeth, Heartlands, Good Hope, and Solihull hospitals over the past year.

The service, led by our Chaplaincy Team, with support from the Bereavement Care Service and the hospital Charity, offers a space for reflection, remembrance, and togetherness.

Everyone is welcome, regardless of faith or belief, as we come together to remember those we have loved and lost. 💙

Please RSVP by email at: [email protected] or for any queries, call: 0121 424 7404

🔬 Join our team as a senior biomedical scientist 🔬

We’re looking for a senior biomedical scientist to join our talented and dedicated team at UHB.

As part of our clinical microbiology laboratory, you'll play a crucial role in delivering high-quality diagnostic services for our patients.

This is an exciting opportunity to:
➡ Work with a wide range of highly specialised diagnostic techniques in a supportive environment
➡Lead and mentor a team of scientists, contributing to their growth and development
➡Be at the forefront of diagnostics, supporting essential healthcare services

If you're a skilled biomedical scientist, looking for the next step in your career, we’d love to hear from you!

📍 Location: Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham
📅 Closing Date: 23 October 2024

Apply today and be part of a team that’s making a difference: https://orlo.uk/Xa3bM

Check out the latest blog from our Chief Nurse, Margaret Garbett. ✍

Margaret reflects on a busy month at UHB and shines a light on the hard work of some brilliant individuals and teams, spotlights some new initiatives, shares highlights from a jam-packed educational conference, and offers some personal insights on the importance of the flu vaccine as a healthcare professional.

Read the full blog via the link in the comments below. 👇

𝐇𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬! Check out the latest edition of our hospital newspaper, 𝘜𝘏𝘉 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥, which is out now!

In this issue, you can read all about how we have enrolled the first patient in Europe into a new trial investigating a pancreatic cancer vaccine.

You can grab a copy of 𝘜𝘏𝘉 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 when visiting our hospital, or read the latest edition online via the link in the comments section. 👇

📢 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬! 📢

Adult patients at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, who are on the inpatient surgical waiting list, will receive a link to a digital pre-operative assessment form. 🏥

🏥✨ This helps us improve your health before surgery. If you need help filling it out, our staff will assist you. 💻📞

For patients with conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure, our pre-operative team will coordinate with your GP and arrange additional tests or consultations if required. 🩺✅

This form is not a substitute for your formal pre-operative assessment, which you will still receive an appointment for. 📅

In November 2024, this programme will extend to all adult patients at Heartlands, Good Hope, and Solihull hospitals.

As part of Organ Donation Week, we’re sharing Andy’s journey.

In 2018, Andy Bright was given just months to live after battling idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a condition that scars the lungs and makes breathing difficult. But a life-saving double lung transplant at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB) changed everything.

Now, six years on, Andy is taking on a remarkable new challenge: an 800-mile tour from John o’Groats to Land's End in a motorhome and on a motorcycle! All to raise awareness for IPF and inspire others who are fighting similar battles.👏

Stopping at QEHB along the way, Andy was met with applause from members of the Midlands Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Support Group and the transplant team that gave him his second chance at life. 🙌

Read more about Andy’s inspiring journey via the link in the comments.👇

40 years ago, Graham Faulkner received a life-changing call for a kidney transplant at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. Despite the uncertainty, the operation was a success. Today, Graham cherishes every moment with his family, including his grandson.

Graham is forever grateful to the donor's family, whose decision saved his life. “It still makes me emotional when I think about how their decision to donate their loved one’s organs, saved my life,” he says.

Leave your loved ones certain by confirming your decision on the NHS Blood and Transplant Organ Donor Register 💙