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Community nurse leaders from two Black Country NHS Trusts joined around 300 stakeholders who met to discuss ways of improving care for residents in care homes across the region. Organised by Sally Roberts, Chief Nurse of the Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB), the ‘Connecting Care Home Communities Together’ conference at Willows Hall in Willenhall focused on residents in care homes with health needs.

Iconic buildings across the Black Country are lighting up pink to help spark discussions among families about organ donation this week. The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust and Walsall Healthcare Trust are calling on people to register their donation decision and talk to their families about their wishes as more than 6,500 people are actively waiting for a transplant across the UK.

Maternity Support Workers are being given enhanced training which is boosting staff morale as well as enhancing care for women on a Wolverhampton hospital’s maternity ward. The new approach has been made possible by The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust’s implementation of Health Education England’s (HEE), Maternity Support Worker Transformation Project, a national initiative that means all support workers are educated and trained to the standards outlined in the HEE Framework.

A range of speakers, workshops covering a host of topics and the chance for service users to share their experiences are all lined up for a maternity and neonatal conference in the Black Country next month. Organised by the Black Country and West Birmingham Local Maternity and Neonatal System (LMNS), the event will be attended by maternity and neonatal staff, people who have used these services and interested professionals.

Wolverhampton patients will now have every day access to drug and alcohol-related support. The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust’s Drug and Alcohol Liaison Team (DALT) is extending its service to cover seven days. Originally Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm, it now includes weekends too, 8am-4pm. This is part of an NHS futures initiative which aims to support key acute hospitals to enhance their alcohol service provision in line with the NHS 10-year plan.

Support workers play an integral role in supporting our Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) to deliver safe and effective care. They work in a variety of healthcare settings and are integral to supporting people’s health and well-being. The recently published Allied Health Professions’ Support Worker Competency, Education, and Career Development Framework has given them a platform to develop their careers and thrive.

A gruelling, high-energy fundraiser organised by a grieving Wolverhampton NHS worker who lost her baby has raised £2,000 for a charity. Family and friends of Bethany Murray completed the 10k Wolf Run in Warwickshire to honour the memory of her daughter Ophelia Storm Murray, who died at 32 weeks. Clambering through thick mud, trails and obstacles across open ground, woodland and chest-high water in The Offchurch Bury, they raised the money for the Lily Mae Foundation.

A new maternity drop-in support group for pregnant Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic women is to be launched in Wolverhampton next week. Called the Sahara Maternity Support Group – Sahara means ‘support’ in Punjabi, Hindi, Bangladeshi and Pakistani – the group will provide antenatal and postnatal education to pregnant women.

Staff from neighbouring NHS Trusts will be crossing the Black Country divide and tackling each other in a fundraising football first for both hospital charities. Taking place on Saturday, October 8, the game between The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust and partners Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust will benefit the RWT Charity and Well Wishers and is one of the first joint ventures between the two charities.

A Wolverhampton medic has raised a swim-pressive amount of money after taking on a deep challenge. Last month, Dr Sally Edwards swam the English Channel and raised just over £5,000 for charities Cystic Fibrosis Care and Rays of Sunshine.

Staff at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust are doing all they can to keep patients infection free as well as boost their own immunity against flu and COVID-19 in preparation for the winter. Doors to the staff vaccination hub at New Cross Hospital are now open and hundreds have turned up to protect their communities and teams.

A nurse leader described as an “outstanding superstar” says it’s a great honour to receive a prestigious, historic award after leading change in baby care. Shelley Rose, Advanced Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (ANNP) at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, has received the Nell Phoenix Charitable Arts Fund Award for her outstanding leadership and commitment to the Neonatal Unit at New Cross Hospital.

An “excellent worker” known for his smart appearance is retiring after more than three decades with the NHS. Rob Casey, Ward Clerk on the Renal Unit at Cannock Chase Hospital, is retiring due to ill health on October 31 after 33 years’ dedicated service for The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust.

Not many people got to share the Queen’s private birthday party, sing for her, serve her and call the monarch their boss. But that’s exactly what Kelly Leonard, Clinical Lead for Children’s Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy Services at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, is fortunate enough to have done.

"An exemplar for all generations whose legacy is a template for us all to live and work by". These words from part of a moving tribute to the late Queen from Dr Cheryl Etches OBE. Cheryl, retired Chief Nurse and Deputy Chief Executive at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, was awarded the OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in June 2012. She received her honour from Princess Anne, at Buckingham Palace with her family.

“Courage, sacrifice, dignity and role model” – just some of the words the Queen’s Nurse award-winners from The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust have used in touching tributes to Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) is a registered charity dedicated to improving the nursing care of people in the home and in the community. Queen’s Nurses (QN) promote the highest standards of patient care in the community.

We are deeply saddened by the death of Her Majesty The Queen and our thoughts are with The Royal Family as they mourn the loss of such an influential figure. Her death will have an obvious impact on her immediate family as well as being felt by all who have admired her across the world. The Queen has visited Walsall and Wolverhampton areas on a number of occasions and has always received a very warm welcome.

High blood pressure can lead to heart and circulatory disease, also known as cardiovascular disease (CVD), which causes a quarter of all deaths in the UK – the equivalent of around 2,300 deaths each month in the Midlands alone. Community pharmacies offer a free blood pressure check service for people aged 40 and over with no previous history of high blood pressure; to find your local pharmacy, visit NHS - Find a Pharmacy.

Following the sad news of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, we have made the decision to cancel our AGM to ensure we can observe the 10 days of mourning. The meeting will now take place on Wednesday 28 September at 9.15am. Questions can be submitted to Keith Wilshere by 9am on Tuesday 27 September.

An “extremely proud” nurse at Wolverhampton’s New Cross Hospital is aiming for glory after being shortlisted for a national award. Sarah Crowshaw, Neonatal Unit Manager, has been named as a finalist in the category for Nurse Manager of the Year at The Nursing Times Workforce Summit and Awards. Appointed in May 2021, Sarah, 46, manages more than 140 staff on a unit with 26 beds, compromising seven intensive care, seven high dependency and 12 special care cots.

Families experiencing pregnancy loss at New Cross Hospital are at the heart of a ‘massive’ donation thanks to a generous local group. Midlands BMX Massive group has donated £500 to The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust’s CRADLE charity. CRADLE is a national pregnancy loss charity working with healthcare professionals within the NHS to support its pregnancy loss services.

Following an update in national guidance and local risk assessment, from Tuesday (September 6th) mask wearing has been reviewed. The following will apply; Patients and visitors attending appointments at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust are no longer required to wear a face mask unless they have respiratory symptoms.

Wolves favourite Steve Daley says prostate cancer checks could be a lifesaver for many men after revealing his own battle with the disease. Steve had his prostate removed via robotic surgery at Wolverhampton’s New Cross Hospital earlier this summer after being diagnosed, following a series of biopsies. As a thank you for his treatment, the former midfielder joined staff from The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust in promoting awareness before last Saturday’s Premier League game between Wolves and Newcastle United at Molineux.

‘Get checked so we can catch it early’ – is the message from Wolverhampton’s urology nurses who have been promoting awareness of prostate cancer. Earlier this week, former BBC Breakfast presenter Bill Turnbull died of prostate cancer at the age of 66, following a five-year battle against the disease. In a statement following his death, his family said “It was a great comfort to Bill that so many more men are now testing earlier for this disease” after numbers trebled following an appeal he made.

Mum led Wolverhampton’s Intensive Care Unit through COVID-19 and daughter is a professional footballer – Sara and Gemma Lawley have both kicked any adversity into touch to get where they want to be. “If we’re told we’re not good enough, we turn round and say ‘just you watch’” says Sara, Acute Pain Nurse Specialist at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust.