Latest News

A Wolverhampton Nurse is “thrilled” to be influencing the treatment of kidney patients nationally after being elected to a key role. Shelagh Bickerton is Lead Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) for the Acute Kidney Injury Team (AKI) at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT). And she feels becoming National AKI Community of Practice (COP) Lead for the Association of Nephrology Nursing (ANN) is helping to put the Black Country on the map.

Ensuring the efficient and effective delivery of research that meets the eligibility criteria for the Clinical Research Network (CRN) Portfolio is its overall remit. The purpose of the CRN West Midlands’ Improvement and Innovation Strategic Funding, specifically, is to deliver collaborative projects that address the region’s key strategic issues. This relates to increasing research capacity and capability and includes piloting new ways of working and innovations that can be scaled up and implemented more widely.

Two Wolverhampton health services have been honoured with civic awards for going “over and above” to support refugees in the city. The 0-19 Service and Thornley Street GP Surgery were recognised with ‘Showing Compassion’ Awards by the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Refugee Residents and the Homelessness and Migration Team – Public Health.

A Wolverhampton healthcare worker has completed an “amazing” fundraising skydive to raise money for bleed kits to help prevent others dying like her brother, who was fatally stabbed. Martyne Johnson, Portering Supervisor at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, is the older sister of Tom Kirwan, 23, who died after being knifed outside the former Uberra nightclub in Wolverhampton City Centre in 2012.

Women and families who have used Maternity and Neonatal Services and want to help drive improvements are being invited to join healthcare professionals at a forthcoming Black Country event. Plans to address perinatal mortality and morbidity will come under the spotlight at The Black Country Local Maternity and Neonatal System (BCLMNS) Clinical Summit being held on 4 October.

A grieving couple have donated a cuddle cot in their baby son’s memory to mark the second anniversary of his death and provide some comfort to families experiencing similar heartbreak. Emma Hughes and Dwayne Webley’s son Jaziah Webley was stillborn at New Cross Hospital on 22 August 2021. The couple were told that Jaziah had sadly passed away when attending maternity triage at New Cross Hospital.

More than 500 mums-to-be have been able to refer themselves to Maternity Services at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust for care and support, thanks to a new approach. They no longer have to contact their GP – they can use the BadgerNet app to directly notify Maternity Services of their pregnancy. Their GP then receives a copy of the self-referral automatically, ensuring communication is maintained.

Fundraisers and volunteers will be given their time to shine at a special awards event being organised by The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust Charity. Nominations are now open for The Charity and Volunteer Awards 2023 which is an annual celebration of the dedication and commitment of local heroes – recognising those individuals and teams who make a real difference to the experience of patients, their families and Trust staff.

England’s Lionesses have been tipped a World Cup win today to end 57 years of hurt by the confident footballer daughter of a Black Country Nurse. Gemma Lawley, who plays for Birmingham City Women, is the daughter of Sara Lawley, Acute Pain Nurse at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust based at New Cross Hospital.

A medical team at Cannock has become the only service of its kind in the Midlands to receive European recognition for its training as it bids to become a centre of excellence in the region. The Musculoskeletal (MSK) Team at Cannock Chase Hospital – part of The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) – is one of only five in the UK to be accredited as a network of imaging training centres by the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR).

A Black Country NHS Leader whose roles span a trio of Trusts has been shortlisted for a national award. Alan Duffell is Group Chief People Officer covering The Royal Wolverhampton, Walsall Healthcare and the Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trusts. He has been shortlisted for the Director of the Year accolade within the Healthcare People Management Association (HPMA) Excellence in People Awards 2023.

She was the first Early Pregnancy Bereavement Nurse in the country and after supporting hundreds of grieving families, Emily Cooper is now helping on a national scale. Trailblazing Emily, 33, was the first of her kind when she was appointed at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust. She is using her knowledge to guide others and has presented online national training for the role, with another session planned for next month.

A Wolverhampton healthcare worker, whose brother was fatally stabbed, has seen a fund for a charity skydive to buy vital equipment to try to prevent others dying the same way top £9,000. Martyne Johnson, Portering Supervisor at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, is the older sister of Tom Kirwan, 23, who lost his life after being knifed outside the former Uberra nightclub in Wolverhampton City Centre in 2012.

As we near the end of South Asian Heritage Month (SAHM), I would like to reflect on the huge contribution South Asians make to the NHS and in particular, The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT). The NHS has a higher proportion of staff from that region than the wider economy (3.2 per cent). At RWT this figure is 17.5 per cent – 2,444 staff. The largest proportion of these work in Medical and Dental specialities at five per cent, or 716.

Young students and local artists have found their creative voice after teaming up with The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) and The Grand Theatre as part of a national initiative. Speak Up is the National Theatre’s new programme which sees young people who have been most affected by the pandemic working in collaboration with local artists and teachers to co-create artistic responses to issues that are most important to them.

A Black Country Nurse’s footballer daughter has sent a good luck message to England’s Lionesses as they bid to reach the Women’s World Cup final today. Gemma Lawley, 20, plays for Birmingham City Women and is the younger daughter of Sara Lawley, Acute Pain Nurse at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust. A former team-mate of Euros squad winning goalkeeper Hannah Hampton at Birmingham, Gemma has played against many of the Lionesses in the Women’s Super League.

People in the Black Country are being encouraged to order any repeat prescriptions they may need now - ahead of the August bank holiday (Monday 28 August). GP practices and pharmacies will have limited opening hours over the bank holiday weekend, making it more challenging for patients to access medicines at short notice. Every bank holiday, NHS 111 sees an increase in people getting in touch about repeat prescriptions.

Eight more newly-qualified District Nurses are now “raring to go” to treat patients across Wolverhampton after the completion of the latest community bootcamp which they said was “amazing”. The Staff Nurses undertook the five-week course, where they learn all aspects of district nursing with visits from company representatives, delegates from all divisions, tutors (called Practice Education Facilitators (PEFs)) and adult community service leads.

“This is how my brain works and now other people can see that.” Sophie Stuart, eight, is just one of the many young people who took part in the “100 Ways to say how I feel about health” activity run by the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) Arts and Heritage Group as part of a youth festival. The #WvSameDifference festival, in West Park, was co-created by Wolverhampton Cultural Education Partnership (CEP) and the #YES youth board and showcased the talents of young people in Wolverhampton.

A new role has been established to bridge the gap between children’s health and adult social care services in Wolverhampton. Rebecca Hewitt is currently undertaking a pilot role as Transition Clinical Nurse Specialist at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT), based at New Cross Hospital. She manages and oversees patients going from paediatric to adult care, and is introducing a transition programme for young people aged 14-plus with long-term health conditions such as diabetes, epilepsy and asthma.

Football fans kicked off the new season in style by raising £1,500 for charity after a signed Wolves shirt was raffled off by club legend Steve Bull. Landlord Wayne Parker had hoped to raise £1,000 for The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) Charity as part of the NHS’s 75th birthday celebrations. But the appearance of 306-goal club record goalscorer Bully ensured The New Pheasant pub in Wednesfield was packed to the rafters for the draw.

A pioneering Wolverhampton fire safety worker has won a national award for her work to rejuvenate the sector’s presence in the Midlands. Philippa Hayward, Group Head of Fire Safety Services at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT), has won the Ambassador Award from the National Association of Healthcare Fire Officers (NAHFO).

Wolverhampton mums-to-be are in good hands after the appointment of the first two Healthy Pregnancy Advisors “passionate” about supporting them. Charlotte Archer and Emily Lear have taken on the new roles at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT), based in Maternity at New Cross Hospital and in the community.

Patients in the Black Country are being reminded that the NHS will still be available for urgent and emergency care during the latest round of industrial action but are being asked to use services wisely. Junior doctors are expected to go on strike from 7am on Friday 11 August to 7am Tuesday 15 August which will affect local services. All health and care partners in the Black Country are working together to prepare for the industrial action and are asking the public for their support.

It’s cause for a triple celebration at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust as a team, volunteer and staff member have all been shortlisted for the Helpforce Champions Award. The national awards are a chance to shine a light on those who give their time to help staff in the health and care sector, and support patients and their families and carers. The Volunteer Services Team has been shortlisted for the Celebrating Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Award whilst one of its own volunteers, Kemal Osman, has been shortlisted for a special ‘Volunteer of the Year Award’.

Wolverhampton’s “excellent” hearing service is one of only nine in the UK to be awarded national accreditation as a training centre. The 39-strong Audiology Team has been recognised as a Higher Specialist Scientific Training Centre (HSST) for Audiological Sciences by the NHS’s National School of Healthcare Science (NSHCS). With bases at West Park Hospital, New Cross Hospital, Cannock Chase Hospital and The Gem Centre in Wednesfield, it supports 21,000 patients a year.

A new system is set to be introduced to Black Country Pathology Services to reduce plastic use following a successful trial within primary care. The move away from plastic bags for blood samples to the Indexor Solutions tube racking system will improve the efficiency of the service whilst removing 44.6 tonnes of plastic per year. As the trial has been so successful in primary care, it is now ready to be rolled out to the Hub at Wolverhampton’s New Cross Hospital as well as Essential Services Labs.

Digital and healthcare experts have joined forces to look at ways that Pathology data can be used more effectively to support Wolverhampton patients with anaemia and the clinicians who treat them. DRE Digital is working with The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) on the project which will explore whether the data currently gathered can more clearly identify at risk patients and help clinicians to anticipate associated issues.

A new group that will focus on supporting Arab Nursing and Midwifery colleagues to have the same career opportunities as others has been created – thanks to the efforts of two leading lights in the Black Country. Ofrah Muflahi, a Registered Nurse, and her cousin Afrah Muflihi, a Midwife, have formed the British Arab Nursing and Midwifery Association (BANMA) which is set to launch in the near future.

A charity appeal has been launched to fund comfort bags to support lung cancer patients through their chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment at New Cross Hospital. The bags – which include items such as lip balms, a knitted heart, puzzle book, adult colouring book, wet wipes and a digital thermometer – are the idea of Cheryl Garner, Lung Care Navigator and Macmillan Support in the Respiratory Centre.

Consultant in Cellular Pathology, Dr Abbie Pugh, has been made Honorary Chair of the Association of Clinical Pathologists (ACP) and is proud to continue a Black Country tradition at the same time. Abbie, who works in Black Country Pathology Services, takes on the role from Professor Julian Burton, an eminent autopsy pathologist and medical educator, for a five-year term. Together with the other two honorary officers, Abbie will be preparing the Council agenda for quarterly meetings and attending management meetings for the Journal of Clinical Pathology.

A scheme to encourage people to recycle their used inhalers instead of binning them has launched in Wolverhampton. In the first scheme of its kind in the Black Country, 19 community pharmacies have joined The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) in a commitment to reduce carbon emissions, improve public health and protect the environment. The scheme supports NHS England’s ‘greener NHS’ mission aimed at achieving net zero emissions by 2040.