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A new NHS website has been created to offer a wealth of health advice to support pregnant women as well as children and young people in the Black Country. Launched by the NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB), the 0-18 years website for the Black Country has been created in partnership with local healthcare professionals.

Three healthcare professionals from The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) have showcased their ground-breaking work on epilepsy to a worldwide audience. Phil Tittensor, Consultant Nurse (CN) for Epilepsies, presented his abstract on developing an improved service for epilepsy patients at the 35th International Epilepsy Congress (IEC) in Dublin.

An “inspirational” Wolverhampton healthcare worker is still cooking meals for patients at the age of 80 – and has NEVER had a day off sick. Grandmother of five Rukman Kaur-Bains – known as ‘Meet’ to staff – has been a Catering Assistant at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) since 1975. She has served more than 700,000 meals to patients over 48 years, and is believed to be the oldest in the organisation’s 11,000-plus workforce.

A compassionate cancer patient raised £1,700 to pay for electronic devices to enable others battling the disease to have a more comfortable stay in hospital. Carol Beddow, from Bilston, has lung cancer but it hasn’t stopped her organising two events which have paid for 10 iPads and six Kindles for patients at New Cross Hospital, part of The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT).

People in the Black Country are being urged to think carefully about which health service they should use during this week’s industrial action. Hospital Consultants went on strike for 48 hours from 7am today (Tuesday 19 September) until 7am on Thursday 21 September. Junior Doctors will be on strike for 72 hours from 7am tomorrow (Wednesday 20 September) until 7am on Saturday 23 September.

Sisters Jenette Blackham and Tessa Deakin took their sibling bond a life-saving step further and the pair are sharing their story today as Organ Donation Week gets underway. A Medical Examiner Officer at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT), Jenette’s story showcases the power of organ donation and highlights the greatest gift that can ever be given.

Wolverhampton’s service for sick and premature babies is leading the way after it became the first in the West Midlands to attain gold standard by a nationally-recognised organisation. The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust’s (RWT) Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at New Cross Hospital has received the Gold Award from Bliss Baby Charter, which offers a practical framework that units can assess themselves against.

Fourteen people have been offered healthcare jobs in Wolverhampton as a result of another successful access course. A total of 15 people completed The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust’s (RWT) Step Into Work (SIW) Programme and 14 of those have been offered paid work at RWT in either permanent or temporary staffing bank roles. The other person is awaiting final checks.

Patients will be encouraged to “Eat, Drink, Dress, Move to Improve” while they are recovering in hospitals across Wolverhampton, Cannock and Walsall to boost their health and wellbeing and give them a head start when they return home. The initiative, EDDMI for short, is being led by Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Dietitians and Nurses across Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust and The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT).

A Black Country-based Consultant will be rubbing shoulders with celebrity TV medic Dr Hilary Jones when he leads the judging at a national competition this week. Dr Richard Jerrom, Consultant Dermatologist and Mohs Surgeon at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust and The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT), is one of two head judges at the Quality in Care Dermatology awards ceremony 2023, while Dr Hilary is presenting the evening.

Innovation and inspiration have earned staff at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust a place on two national awards shortlists. In the forthcoming Nursing Times Awards, Lola Omotoso, Matron for International Nursing, has been nominated for Nurse Manager of the Year while in the Nursing Times Workforce Summit & Awards, the Trust’s Digital Innovation Unit has been nominated for Best Use of Workplace Technology for its Virtual Ward dashboard tool.

Researchers from The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust will gather on Friday 15 September to celebrate the research achievements of both Trusts. The event, at the Village Hotel in Walsall, will showcase the research studies currently taking place at both Trusts as well as setting out the joint vision for research and sharing best practice.

A former Prince’s Trust volunteer is excitedly preparing for the next step in her NHS career after being accepted on to the Operating Department Practitioner (ODP) apprenticeship scheme at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust. Mauricia Brookes, 26, came to New Cross Hospital as part of the Prince’s Trust Get Into Hospital Services Programme which gives people a taste of work experience in a hospital setting.

Five Wolverhampton healthcare workers are celebrating after having their status upgraded to Staff Nurses. Rekha Mathew, Geeta Rani, Anupriya Tadi, Anish Pothen and Jithin Sarojini were all working as Healthcare Assistants (HCAs) for The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) despite qualifying as Staff Nurses in their native India. Previously, Nurses with qualifications outside the UK would have to pass an Occupational English examination (OET).

Eligible adults in the Black Country can now receive the shingles vaccine. Shingles is an extremely painful condition which can develop after a chicken pox infection. It can occur at any age, but the risk and severity of shingles and its complications increase with age and is higher in individuals who have a severely weakened immune system. Some cases can result in serious symptoms such as blindness, hearing loss, nerve pain and potentially death, however the shingles vaccine can significantly reduce the risk.

Children in the Black Country will be offered a free NHS flu vaccine from this month. Flu is caused by the influenza virus; as well as being highly infectious, the virus can cause serious illnesses in children, such as sepsis and pneumonia. Last year, 6,000 children aged five and under in England ended up in hospital because of flu. The flu vaccine is safe and effective and reduces a child’s chance of needing hospital care for flu by around two thirds.

“Wonderful man” Rob Hales meant so much to his grand-daughter that the thoughtful teenager went running for the first time and raised £175 for Wolverhampton diabetes patients in his memory. Kiera Osborne-Hales, 13, from Essington, completed her first parkrun (five kilometres, or 3.1 miles) at Walsall Arboretum. The Cheslyn Hay High School Year 9 student laced up her trainers and joined her dad Terry, 37, who is Rob’s son, after having the idea to raise money in his honour.

“I’m very happy and I love my job. When I’m not working I miss my patients.” So says a “hugely supportive and excellent leader” in Wolverhampton healthcare who has won a prestigious award for her support to colleagues – the first internationally-trained Nurse to do so. Eden Uba, 26, Staff Nurse at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) at New Cross Hospital, has won the Nell Phoenix Charitable Arts Fund Award for helping fellow Nursing staff settle into their new surroundings – despite being new to the country herself.

Eligible people living in the Black Country will soon be invited to come forward for a flu and COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccination programmes are set to start from 11 September, with care home residents and those most at risk first in line to receive a dose. The offer will then be opened up to the remaining eligible groups from 18 September. The NHS has been asked to bring the programme forward and will be working quickly to ensure as many eligible people as possible are vaccinated by the end of October.

Two fitness fanatic Black Country healthcare workers are gearing up for more group challenges after raising £5,500 for charity. Claire Flatt, who has twice beaten cancer, and Laura Roberts walked up The Wrekin at sunrise with colleagues as part of an annual event they call #RWTChallenge, a year after scaling Snowdon at sunset. Money raised is going to The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) Charity and the current tally is more than halfway towards the pair’s joint target of £10,000.

Missed hospital outpatient appointments cost the NHS millions of pounds each year and affect other patients in need of care as well as healthcare providers. With waiting lists at an all-time high, Dr Brian McKaig, Chief Medical Officer at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT), is asking patients to make sure they notify the relevant department if they’re not able to attend.

A former banking and retail manager inspired to support cancer patients after her best friend had the disease has been nominated for a national award for developing a “unique and innovative” service now being recognised in the Midlands as best practice. Kelly Pritchard, Macmillan Support and Information Manager in Cancer Services at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT), has been nominated for the Macmillan Professionals Excellence Award in the Innovation Excellence Award category.

A new healthcare role has been created in Wolverhampton to provide support to bereaved families after a child has died. Vicky Griffiths has been appointed as The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust’s first Specialist Nurse for Child Deaths. Based at the Gem Centre in Wednesfield as part of the 0-19 Service, Vicky’s role has been created following an increase in the number of child deaths in Wolverhampton.