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A trailblazing healthcare worker who made history as the first Nurse Prescriber in Birmingham has retired after 37 years with the NHS – to ‘em-bark’ on a new career as a dog sitter. Jane Dalziel, 55, from Fordhouses, who has been Nurse Practitioner at Phoenix Medical Centre in Parkfields since 2008, has worked for The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) for 28 years over two stints.

Eight fundraisers are hoping to keep on running this weekend when they take part in the London Landmarks Half Marathon to boost funds for The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) Charity. This event, which takes place on Sunday 2 April, is a closed road, central London run and is the only half marathon to go through both the City of London and City of Westminster.

She is proud to have been one of the first “Lilac Ladies” 35 years ago, and Anne Law has now retired from the Community Intermediate Care Team (CICT) with many happy memories of her fantastic work family and rewarding career. Anne is a Rehabilitation Assistant within the team that is based at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust’s West Park Hospital.

People will be given a weekly opportunity to find out more about Bowel Cancer Screening as well as the signs and symptoms to be aware of, thanks to sessions being set up in partnership with The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT). Throughout April, as part of Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, Bowel Cancer Specialist Screening Practitioners will be in the former vaccination centre, opposite Rymans, in Wolverhampton’s Mander Centre.

A caring Nurse has won a prize for her special welcome for new starters following a competition at two Black Country NHS Trusts. Kerry Paxon, Sister, Care Co-ordination Adult Community, won the ‘Warm Welcome’ competition run by The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) and partners Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust. The competition was designed to reward clinical areas for the best warm welcome afforded to new starters to their teams.

A memorial wall mural has been created as a touching tribute to an “outstanding” Wolverhampton clinician who died unexpectedly. Pete Moxon, who was the Clinical Service Lead for Respiratory and Sleep Physiology at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT), sadly passed away on 17 October 2022 at the age of 51. Most recently Chair of the Association for Respiratory Technology and Physiology (ARTP) standards committee, Pete was hugely respected both regionally and nationally in his field and served RWT for more than 21 years.

A new role has been created at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) to improve awareness and diagnosis of endometriosis for women across the city. Yasmin Walker has become the Trust’s first Clinical Nurse Specialist for endometriosis and is the first port-of-call for patients either diagnosed with the condition or awaiting a diagnosis. Endometriosis is a condition where tissue in the lining of the womb grows in other places, such as the ovaries and fallopian tubes.

In February we celebrated National Apprenticeship Week, with the theme of ‘Skills for Life’. My latest blog reflects on how our level 6 AHP apprenticeships are helping individuals develop the skills and knowledge for a rewarding career and helping us to develop a talented AHP workforce. Our first four Operating Department Practitioner (ODP) apprentices became registered Practitioners in August 2022, following the approval of the ODP Apprenticeship in 2019.

As Chief Medical Officer of The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT), I want to make a positive contribution across as many areas of the organisation as possible. In support of our Trust strategy, I have four key personal aspirations: Improving development opportunities for leadership positions across the medical workforce, in accordance with our Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI) agenda, Improving and increasing the academic standing of staff at RWT, Improving RWT’s digital capability Enhancing our development programme for all senior medical staff.

A new programme to help jobseekers gain administrative roles in the NHS has been hailed a success after giving employment opportunities to the first group of participants. The Steps into Health programme – run by City of Wolverhampton College in partnership with The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust and Jobcentre Plus – aims to overcome barriers to employment by enabling people to develop a range of skills, get support in applying for jobs and help preparing for an interview.

District Nurse trainees are gaining their wings following a second boot camp-style learning programme which has attracted national acclaim. Six members of staff from The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) joined in the second session as they look to acquire new skills for their new career. The five-week training programme started at the headquarters of the community and district nursing service at Wolverhampton Science Park.

Staff, patients and visitors have been observing the National Day of Reflection at two Black Country NHS Trusts today – the three-year anniversary of the UK’s first COVID-19 lockdown. Hosted by Marie Curie, it is an opportunity to remember those who have died, support people who are grieving, and connect with each other. Reverend Laurel Woodstock led a service and minute’s silence in the Heart and Lung Centre at New Cross Hospital.

“Bright and enthusiastic” young pupils at a city school are helping to shape patient information in Paediatric Services at New Cross Hospital. The Year 3 and 4 students at St Anthony’s Catholic Primary Academy in Fordhouses have been working with the Patient Experience Team at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) on the co-production project.

A highly skilled team of Nurses and Paramedics has engaged with more than 2000 care home residents across Wolverhampton as part of improvements to palliative and end-of-life care. The Care Home Team, which is currently funded by donations from local charity supporters, was established by Compton Care following the roll out of the Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment (ReSPECT).

A Porter at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) has inspired the creation of a new role to provide the respectful and safe transfer of deceased patients from their place of death to the hospital mortuary. Daimon Winters, a Porter at RWT for eight years, has become the Trust’s first Mortuary Guardian. The role, based at New Cross Hospital, was introduced after Daimon stepped forward to assist with various aspects of mortuary work in response to a request for help from Patient Services last year.

An intrepid accountant had a 50th birthday with a difference – trekking to Mount Everest Base Camp to raise £3,705 in honour of his late brother. Alex Howes, who works for the Clinical Research Network West Midlands (CRN WM), hosted by The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, walked 130 kilometres (miles) to South Base Camp in Nepal and back. In doing so, he reached a height of 5,364 metres – nearly three and a half miles. He was raising money after his eldest brother Stuart died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 53 on 6 September 2021.

Visitors for patients on two wards at New Cross Hospital can now see them without booking first, in a trial starting today (Monday, 20 March 2023). For the next four weeks, and from the hours of 1pm-7pm daily, a maximum of two visitors can see patients on Wards B7 and D7. Ward B7 is for head and neck patients and D7 is for general surgery. Visitors should arrive on the wards between the designated times, while observing necessary infection prevention measures.

A “very special” Chaplain has won a national award to acknowledge his exceptional hard work in supporting a family that suffered pregnancy loss. Joe Fielder, Team Lead for Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT), was presented with the Above and Beyond Award at the Mariposa Awards at the Landmark Hotel in London. The annual ceremony recognises Midwives, Nurses, Bereavement Midwives, Doctors and community members who have gone above and beyond in the care and support for people who have experienced baby loss.

A new app designed to encourage Wolverhampton residents to become healthier is being backed by The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust. The City of Wolverhampton Council is working with the Department for Health and Social Care and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities to pilot Better Health: Rewards, designed to test whether offering adults rewards and incentives can help them eat better and increase their physical activity levels.

Visitors to New Cross Hospital have the chance to look at different careers in healthcare science this week. Healthcare Science Week, 13-19 March 2023 brings together over 50 scientific specialisms and professional groups to celebrate and raise awareness of this diverse NHS workforce. At New Cross Hospital, a stand at Greggs is promoting the awareness event.

Swapping Genoa for Wolverhampton might seem ‘pasta joke’ to some but it’s changed an Italian’s life for the better – and her patients. Despite exchanging the Italian Riviera for the canals of the Black Country, Ambra Righetti is riding the crest of a wave after becoming the first Paediatric Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) on the Children’s Ward at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust. An independent practitioner, Ambra works across clinical, education, leadership and management and research, and is on the doctors’ rota.

A host of midwifery and nursing opportunities across the Black Country will be showcased at a recruitment event this spring. The Black Country Local Maternity and Neonatal System (LMNS) has organised the session at West Bromwich Albion’s ground at The Hawthorns, to run between 9am and 2pm on Wednesday 3 May. It is open to: Midwives – Bands 5 and 6, Nurses – Band 5, Qualified in Specialty (QIS) Nurses – Band 6, Return to practice Midwives and Nurses interested in completing a shortened course to become Midwives.

Compassionate volunteers are being sought to help support a project focused on tackling loneliness, isolation, depression and anxiety in Wolverhampton’s vulnerable communities. The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) Charity, in partnership with Wolverhampton Voluntary and Community Action (WVCA) has been awarded £220,000 from NHS Charities Together for the project which is called Holistic Opportunities Preventing Exclusion (HOPE).

A health chief with more than 40 years’ NHS leadership has been appointed as Chair across two Black Country Trusts. Sir David Nicholson KCB CBE will take up his role as Chair of The Royal Wolverhampton and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trusts on April 1st, 2023. He will continue in his shared Chair role across Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust and The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust. Sir David has held some of the most senior posts in the NHS.

Free checks are being offered in the Mander Centre at a new Health Hub set up in Wolverhampton City Centre to monitor people’s lifestyles. The hub is undertaking full NHS checks for people aged from 40 to 74. This includes blood pressure, pulse, weight and height measurement and cholesterol point of care testing, along with advice on healthy eating and lifestyle. In partnership with the City of Wolverhampton Council, the promotion is being jointly led by preventative health promotion concern the Living Well Group, part of One Wolverhampton.

A cancer patient who was married for just four months has died, with a service to celebrate his life taking place on what would have been his 50th birthday. Phil Gigon, from Fordhouses, died on 29 January after battling cancer of the lungs, kidney, liver and spine. He had married partner of 24 years Kay McKnight on October 5, 2022, at home surrounded and supported by family and friends in a ceremony organised through The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust.

Black Country Midwives, Maternity Support Workers and Neonatal Nurses are all supporting a national campaign to reduce the number of baby deaths in the region where unsafe sleeping habits have been identified. The Black Country Local Maternity and Neonatal System (LMNS) is highlighting the Lullaby Trust’s Safer Sleep Week which runs from today (Monday 13) until Friday 17 March.

Junior doctors will be taking part in industrial action from 7am on Monday 13 March until 7am on Thursday 16 March. Accessing our services:- If you need medical advice, please go to NHS 111 online, unless it is a life-threatening situation when you should still call 999. Our Emergency Departments are open but waiting times may be longer than normal. We will continue to see patients in order of clinical priority – those with emergency, life-threatening conditions will be seen first.

Cannock Chase Hospital has now been awarded national accreditation as part of a pilot scheme to ensure the highest standards in clinical and operational practice. The scheme, run by NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme, assesses hubs against a framework of standards to help them deliver some of the most common surgical procedures, such as cataract surgery and hip replacement, more quickly. It also seeks to assure patients about the high standards of clinical care.

People who have been affected by the death of a loved one can benefit from face-to-face support again following the relaunch of a dedicated Bereavement Hub in Wolverhampton. The New Cross Hospital Bereavement Information Hub is relaunching on Friday 10 March. Situated in the Seminar Room of the Heart and Lung Centre, it will host people on the second Friday of every month between 10.15am-11.45am. Refreshments are available, as is free parking.

“He listens and he cares” and “The best boss I could have wished for”. Just two of the accolades for Dr Paul Woodmansey, Consultant Cardiologist, who has hung up his stethoscope after 36 years with the NHS. The last eight of those were spent at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust based at New Cross Hospital in the Heart and Lung Centre. Originally from Sheffield, Dr Woodmansey qualified as a doctor in 1986 and later moved to Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust.

A pioneering Wolverhampton nurse has won a national award for her care and treatment of very sick babies and support for their families. Nikki Farrington, Neonatal Bereavement and Family Support Nurse at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, has been named Neonatal Nurse of the Year by the Neonatal Nurses Association (NNA). The mum of one, 44, from Willenhall, receives £1,000 to spend on the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and a year’s membership of the NNA.

“Inspirational, fun, determined, passionate and positive” staff across Wolverhampton and Walsall NHS Trusts are being celebrated this International Women’s Day. From Midwives, to School Nurses, to those who work in Pharmacy, Surgery and End-of-Life-Care, colleagues across The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust have been hailed for their contribution. They regularly go above and beyond in their role, have championed women in under-represented communities or have a real impact on the lives of others in the hospital, community or workplace.

For new mum Alison Evans, her pregnancy was the prompt she needed to stop smoking – and she’s been smoke free ever since. That was three years ago, and the part-time retail worker from Bilston hasn’t looked back, despite having a 10-15 cigarettes a day habit from 2012-20. Alison, 32, received support during her pregnancy from the Tobacco Dependency Team (TDT) at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, before giving birth to her daughter Lily Mae, now three.

She may have been 50 years a smoker but Irene Horton is celebrating a much healthier milestone – four weeks without lighting up! Irene, 73, actually started the habit in hospital after having her daughter Lisa, now 50. She took her first drag in the day room after being offered a cigarette as a ‘treat’ following her pregnancy, back in the days when smoking was allowed indoors. By the time she took Lisa out for a walk for the first time, Irene, from Donnington, Telford, was curious enough to buy her first packet – 10 Cadets – and from then on, she became a 20-30 a day smoker.

Smokers in Wolverhampton are being urged quit smoking this No Smoking Day – Wednesday 8 March 2023 – as research shows those who smoke are more likely to develop dementia. The annual awareness day encourages smokers to make a quit attempt and this year’s theme is ‘stopping smoking protects your brain health’. Evidence shows smoking raises the risk of developing dementia, particularly Alzheimer’s disease, as it harms the vascular system (heart and blood vessels) and the brain.

I always like to read the many stories on International Women’s Day – they are full of inspiration from those who have many talents, with many stories where equity has not always been prominent. This year the theme looks at the world of digital and innovation and highlights the importance of women in this industry. Historically, the space of science and innovation was not considered the realm of women, but over the last century education and opportunity have presented themselves often with individual dedication, desire and support.

Two ‘star’ healthcare workers have been dubbed “worth their weight in gold” after improving the flow of younger patients through New Cross Hospital. Angela George and Karen Salter were recently appointed as Patient Flow Co-Ordinators at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust on the Children’s Unit on Ward A21. Their role is to ensure younger patients needing transfer from the Emergency Department (ED) for further treatment are transferred as quickly as possible.

Fans of frocks, flares, frills and fabulous features will want to flock to the annual summer fashion show being hosted by The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust Charity. A batch of early bird tickets has already sold out for the event on Wednesday 3 May which the Charity is running in partnership with Fashion SOS, but £8.50 tickets are still available. Rails of ladies’ high street clothing, in sizes 6 to 30, will be on sale at up to 75 per cent off normal retail price. Brands on sale include Zara, Next, Asos, New Look, River Island and Marks & Spencer.

“It enabled me to keep my passions going – my son and nursing.” Cath Wilson, Deputy Director of Nursing at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, managed to combine her work with caring for her son, who has complex needs, because of the support she received. And she has recently launched a campaign across both Trusts called Supervision Together all Year (STaY) aimed at retaining new nurses at the Trusts.

A Consultant Cardiologist is trialling a newly developed app to benefit heart patients at Wolverhampton’s New Cross Hospital. Professor James Cotton is working with Wolverhampton University’s Research Institute for Healthcare Science (RIHS), in collaboration with Dr Nazish Khan at University Hospitals Birmingham, to investigate whether care for patients with the heart valve condition severe aortic stenosis can be improved using a novel smartphone app that tracks their symptoms and wellbeing.

A charity has won a grant of £220,000 to help up to 1,000 vulnerable people in Wolverhampton over the next two years. The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) Charity, in partnership with Wolverhampton Voluntary and Community Action (WVCA) has been awarded £220,000 from NHS Charities Together for project Holistic Opportunities Preventing Exclusion (HOPE).

Breast cancer survivors raised more than £30,000 to buy specialist equipment at New Cross Hospital to improve treatment for patients. A regular sales table, generous donations and grants, a popular annual quiz and a fashion show raised £30,675.00, allowing the Breast Cancer Action Group (BCAG) Wolverhampton and District to buy wireless technology for breast cancer patients at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT).