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ideo and phone appointments held at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust have saved patients almost two million miles of travelling over the last year; the equivalent of four return trips to the moon. The Trust also estimated that in the 12 months to March 2022, the benefits of running virtual appointments saved 1,864,673 miles of travelling and staying at home led to 343.7 tonnes of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide being saved.

Wolverhampton’s Director of Public Health is backing a campaign highlighting the importance of cervical screening. The Help Us Help You campaign, led by the Department of Health and Social Care and the NHS, says that regular screening helps to prevent more than two-thirds of deaths from cervical cancer – and urges people not to ignore their invitation. Screening checks for the high-risk HPV virus which causes nearly all cervical cancers.

A group of medics are going on the run to raise up to £15,000 for equipment to help vulnerable children attending their department at Wolverhampton’s New Cross Hospital. Ten members of staff from A21 Paediatric Assessment Unit at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust have signed up to the Great Birmingham Run on Sunday, May 1, setting up a GoFundMe page. Nine are running the 10k race and one is attempting the half marathon (13.1 miles).

A new facility has significantly cut waiting times for patients receiving scans at Cannock Chase Hospital. The Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC), which went fully operational in the new year, is a configuration of demountable units containing two CT scanners and one MRI scanner linked by a support unit, including reception, waiting area, toilet and kitchen, to create a ‘pop-up’ CDC.

Cannock Chase Hospital has become one of the first in the region to perform a same-day hip replacement operation – described as a “great achievement.” Mr Khaldoun Bitar, Consultant Orthopaedic Lower Limb Arthroplasty and Trauma Surgeon at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, performed the surgery on patient John Greybanks.

After a number of excellent entries, two nursing teams from The Royal Wolverhampton Trust have been shortlisted in the finals for a prestigious award. The BJN Awards are a showcase of nursing excellence, highlighting the critical contribution that nurses make to healthcare. They represent a fantastic opportunity to gain the recognition that hard work and dedication so richly deserves, and a chance to commemorate achievement at the nursing profession’s night of the year.

Continuing my promotion of learning through education at all stages of careers, I want to shine the spotlight on another of our amazing nursing students – originally a Healthcare Support Worker (HCSW) from prison! After featuring a nurse from Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust last time, here I focus on a student from The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust.

Memory boxes have been created to support babies born at New Cross Hospital who are going into foster care - along with their new families. The idea has come from Specialist Midwife for Vulnerable Women Yvonne Lefevre who works for The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust. She recognised there was a lack of support available for families in this complex situation and has created the boxes with the help of a charity.

The incredible efforts of everyone working in the adult social care sector through the Covid-19 pandemic was celebrated as the City of Wolverhampton Council joined a national commemoration yesterday (Thursday 17 March, 2022). Social care bodies across the country organised the Social Care Day of Remembrance and Reflection to honour the adult social care workforce – and remember those who lost their lives during the pandemic.

A cancer support centre at New Cross Hospital has been given a near £10,000 upgrade that will create a more comfortable area for patients – thanks to charitable funds. The Macmillan Information Centre provides practical and emotional support for patients and their families as they navigate their cancer journey. Until recently, the centre had an open plan layout located on the main hospital corridor.

Here at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT), we are marking Nutrition and Hydration Week (14-20 March 2022) – an annual event in which we recognise the importance of patients and staff maintaining a healthy diet. We have joined forces with Sylvia Gilbert, Nutrition and Dietetics Team Leader, to learn how staff are supporting patients with their nutritional needs.

A study looking at the effects of low-dose iron supplements during pregnancy is underway at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT). Around a third of UK pregnant women develop anaemia caused by lack of iron. This can lead to increased risks for both mother and baby during pregnancy and childbirth. The team running the study aims to find out if iron supplements to prevent anaemia can help to reduce these risks. Since the study opened in January at RWT, 23 participants have been recruited.

Covid-19 cases are rising again in Wolverhampton – with nearly 850 people testing positive in the city in the last seven days and hospitalisations increasing. As a result, residents are being reminded to remain vigilant and continue to do all they can to stop the spread of the virus. John Denley, Wolverhampton's Director of Public Health, said: "It was widely expected that infections would increase once the Covid-19 measures were lifted last month, and that has proved to be the case, both locally and nationally.

You’re invited to join our Allied Health Professionals virtual recruitment / careers event taking place on Thursday, March 24 2022, 12.30pm-1.30pm. After a short welcome from Dr Rosalind Leslie, Chief AHP for the Trust, participants will be able to split off into groups led by the different allied health professions. You can ask questions or just listen.

The role of a speech and language therapist is to provide assessment, care and support for children and adults who have difficulties with communication and or swallowing. Here we feature Steph O’Toole, Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust for Nutrition and Hydration Week, as she explains how important her role is in a patient’s nutrition and hydration journey.

A nurse who was kicked and spat at by a patient at Wolverhampton’s New Cross Hospital pressed charges against her attacker and says the public needs to understand such behaviour won’t be tolerated. Gemma Gessey, Sister in the Emergency Department (ED), has worked for The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust for seven years and has been victim of verbal and physical abuse on numerous occasions, as well as witnessing colleagues facing the same.

I’m always keen to lend my support to positive health campaigns, and with Nutrition and Hydration Week (March 14-20) starting yesterday, I want to draw your attention to how we’re celebrating the event at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust (WHT). The week is a good opportunity for us to re-focus our attention on how important it is to nutritionally optimise our patients and ensure they are well hydrated.

Wards will be gradually starting to welcome visitors back into The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Hospital sites from this Wednesday 16 March. While it is recognised that cases of COVID-19 have decreased in the community, the virus is still in general circulation and there are Covid-19 positive patients in hospital.  Therefore, visiting will be arranged in a controlled manner to keep patients, staff and the general public as safe as possible.

Bereaved families have kindly supported a Bushbury Cemetery and Crematorium recycling initiative to raise £15,000 for a ward at Wolverhampton’s New Cross Hospital. With the families’ consent, around half a tonne (475 kg) of assorted metal, such as titanium from hip replacements, orthopaedic implants including hip and knee replacement joints and pins, has been collected from cremations. 

As Wolverhampton marks the second anniversary of the first coronavirus case in the city, residents are being reminded that the fight against Covid-19 is not over. And they are also being encouraged to take a moment to reflect on and remember the efforts of all those who have played a part, large or small, in the city’s response to the pandemic over the last two years.

A devoted mum who tragically lost her baby is getting on her bike with 50 others, saddling up to cycle 7,200 miles between them to raise £1,000. Pam Harvey is cycling the length of the Route 66 highway, which runs from Chicago to Los Angeles in the United States – a distance of 2,400 miles – to raise money for the Neonatal Unit (NNU) at Wolverhampton’s New Cross Hospital.

Today (Thursday, March 10) is World Kidney Day 2022 and we’re focussing on the work of the Trust’s Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) team! The team provide support and education for over 600 patients at present, all with varying degrees of kidney failure. The team work in hospital and GP settings within Wolverhampton, Walsall and Cannock. As a group of specialist renal nurses, the CKD team coordinate and facilitate care and reviews for patients with stage five CKD.

People attending appointments or visiting patients at New Cross Hospital within the circumstances currently allowed are being urged to make sure they stay away if they have sickness and diarrhoea. Norovirus infection, often referred to as the winter vomiting bug, is easily transmissible and is currently circulating in the community. If you are unsure whether to visit, please feel free to contact the ward / clinic before you come into hospital.

March marks Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month – a campaign highlighting a disease that kills around a third of women in the first year after diagnosis. We understand coming into hospital is daunting, especially when the environment is unfamiliar, so we have joined forces with the Gynae-oncology team here at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust to help alleviate concerns and offer reassurance.

A service which transformed a Wolverhampton teenager’s life by diagnosing a language disorder and developing her speech has been recognised with an international award. Wolverhampton Children’s Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) Service, based at The Gem Centre in Wednesfield, has won a certificate from Raising Awareness of Developmental Language Disorder (RADLD), for treating 16-year-old Molly Price, who struggled to express herself for many years before being diagnosed at the age of 15.

Today is International Women’s Day 2022 – a day of celebration and an opportunity for me to thank the women of Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust and The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust for all they do to support their patients and colleagues. I’m proud to say our organisations value each individual for their skills and talents, irrespective of their gender or any other protected characteristic they may possess.

International Women's Day (IWD) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Marked annually on March 8, IWD is one of the most important days of the year to: Celebrate women's achievements, Raise awareness about women's equality, Lobby for accelerated gender parity, Fundraise for female-focused charities.

Wolves mascot Wolfie and Dental Health Specialist Caroline Bestwick are on a mission to get Wolverhampton’s children smiling and avoid toddlers having their teeth taken out. Working alongside the City of Wolverhampton Council and Public Health England, Caroline, who works for The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, is campaigning for better oral health among children to avoid unnecessary tooth extractions due to dental decay, avoid early exposure to general anaesthetic and reduce waiting lists for dental services.

National Foot Health Week takes place every year – a time to have your feet checked and to make them a priority. We use our feet every day of our lives so its vital we take care of them, as we would our teeth and eyes. Our foot health service at RWT is focusing on a specific topic per day to raise awareness of their services. Monday – standard foot related care and advice The specialist foot health service are based in the community and cover the Wolverhampton district.

Overseas staff at two Black Country NHS trusts are being recognised for their dedication and commitment to their patients today - the second ever Overseas NHS Workers Day. The Royal Wolverhampton and Walsall Healthcare NHS trusts are proud to support this special focus which celebrates the extraordinary contributions made by their international staff.

I am always keen to promote learning through education at all stages of careers and over the coming weeks, I want to shine the spotlight on students undertaking different levels of study. At both hospital sites – The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust – we have students studying at undergraduate and post-graduate levels. One of our Masters students, Stefano Oggiano, is in his second (final) year of studying for an MSc in Infection Prevention and Control at the University of Dundee.

A Peaky Blinders-inspired dress up morning, tombola and bring and buy sale organised by staff at Tesco have all added up to £1,000 for the Neonatal Unit at Wolverhampton’s New Cross Hospital. Sara Dawson, Community Champion of the Tesco store on the Marston Road, Wolverhampton along with colleague Carolyn Aldridge, hosted a range of fundraising activities on behalf of the store. They chose to support the Neonatal Unit after Carolyn’s step grandson was born prematurely in August 2021 at 24 weeks, weighing 1 lb 10 oz, and was cared for on the unit.

March is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, and it is vital to raise awareness by ensuring women know the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer and how they can get help. Did you know that ovarian cancer is the UK’s sixth common cancer, with around 7,500 cases per year? What are the causes of ovarian cancer? The risk of developing ovarian cancer increases with age, with more than half of all cases in the UK in those aged 65 and over.

It’s said there is a book in everyone and a team of authors from Wolverhampton’s New Cross Hospital recently had a paper published in a national journal – for some, their first such experience. Led by Dr Wendy Walker, Reader in Nursing (End-of-life care and Bereavement) and Professional Lead for Nursing Research, the five-strong team shared insights in a paper on a service for grieving families during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There’s no place like home – that’s the message behind a new campaign which has been launched to showcase the variety of services available to help Wolverhampton patients get care and treatment at home. The campaign is aimed at helping both patients and their families understand that hospital is fine when you are very unwell, but once you are medically fit, there really is no better place to recuperate than at home with your loved ones.