First Contact Mental Health Practitioners lead the way

Written on 08 February 2023.

Board members from Dudley Integrated Health and Care NHS Trust have heard more about its innovative First Contact Mental Health Practitioner model.

During February’s Board Meeting, staff members who work in this field provided a detailed overview of their service and explained the benefits that the team brings.

In an effort to alleviate pressure on General Practitioners (GPs) and provide specialist care, the Practitioners have developed a new approach to mental health care by working directly with patients and integrating with surgeries in Primary Care Networks across Dudley.

The First Contact Mental Health Practitioners, who must be experienced Registered Mental Health Nurses, see patients directly without them having to see a GP, they bring a wealth of experience and specialism to general practice.

Currently, the initiative sees five members of staff integrated with local practices to alleviate pressure on GPs by offering a specialised service to individuals aged 16 years and over.

The model provides an additional 245 mental health appointments per week and hopes to expand, so more appointments can be made available.

One patient, suffering from depression, was recently able to reduce and then stop a high dosage of antidepressants, as well as engage in mindfulness and exercise. This individual is now looking forward to taking part in an upcoming sports event and enjoying improved mental well-being, a huge achievement.

The success of this patient is just one example of the positive impact this new model is having on the mental health of individuals in the area.

Samantha Hemming, Lead First Contact Mental Health Practitioner at Dudley Integrated Health and Care NHS Trust said:

“We are dedicated to improving access to specialist care and working towards true parity of esteem for mental health and I look forward to continuing to serve the community.

“This model has been a goal of mine for a long time, and I am pleased to see it working so well for our patients and removing some of the strain upon our GPs, who are extremely busy.

“The service we offer means that patients can receive specialist care from dedicated professionals in this field.”

Dr Rebecca Lewis, GP Mental Health Lead at Dudley integrated Health and Care NHS Trust said:

“Whether it is reducing medications, taking more time for self-care, or achieving personal ambitions in life, First Contact Mental Health Practitioners are there to holistically support patients on their journey.

“With up to 40% of GP appointments relating to a mental health presentation, this model is having a great impact and there have been fantastic results by working closely with our patients.”

Take your gloves off

Written on 08 February 2023.

Dudley Integrated Health and Care NHS Trust is encouraging staff to ‘take their gloves off’ when undertaking physical (or non-physical) observations on patients, such as blood pressure, oxygen saturations, and taking temperatures.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a notable change in the use of gloves when undertaking routine activities. The ‘Take Your Gloves Off’ campaign aims to improve awareness of when it is appropriate to wear gloves.

For most physical observations gloves are not required and hand hygiene with alcohol-based hand rub or hand washing with soap and water is the most effective means of preventing the spread of infection and keeping our patients and ourselves safe.

The overuse of gloves:

Reduces the opportunity to clean our hands
Increases environmental contamination
Increases our environmental impact through the production and the disposal of gloves
Increases the risk of skin conditions, such as occupational dermatitis

Be a “#TakeYourGlovesOff” champion today and remember gloves are not required when taking physical or non-physical observations.

Last chance to book a COVID-19 booster vaccine

Written on 02 February 2023.

People in the Black Country are being reminded to book a COVID-19 booster vaccine before it’s too late.

To date, people aged 16 and over have been eligible to receive an initial booster dose, whilst adults aged 50 and over, care home residents, the severely immunosuppressed and frontline health and care workers have been eligible for an autumn booster dose.

Now, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has advised that an offer of an initial booster dose should end when the current autumn booster programme ends.

This means that Sunday 12 February will be the last chance for anyone who has been invited for a COVID-19 booster to book an appointment via the National Booking System, or by calling 119.

Sally Roberts, Chief Nursing Officer for the NHS Black Integrated Care Board, said: “In the Black Country, we have delivered more than 2 million vaccinations to date, which is a fantastic achievement.

“Thanks to the success of the booster programme, and the hundreds of thousands of people who have already come forward for a vaccine, the NHS is now in a position to pause the booster rollout.

“If you are eligible for a COVID-19 booster vaccine, whether that’s an initial booster dose or an autumn booster, please come forward before it’s too late. The vaccine will top up your immunity against the virus and keep you and your loved ones protected.

“The offer of a first and second dose will still be available for those who are yet to come forward, so please do take up the offer as soon as you can.”

The JCVI has also advised that for a smaller group of people, such as those who are older and those who are immunosuppressed, an extra booster vaccine dose in the spring should also be planned for. Further advice regarding the spring booster will be provided soon.

There are a number of pop-up clinics in the Black Country offering first and second doses and will continue to offer booster doses on a walk-in basis until the end of March. For more information, please visit the Black Country ICB website here.

Public invited to NHS Board meeting

Written on 02 February 2023.

Local people are invited to attend a meeting of the Board of Dudley Integrated Health and Care NHS Trust (DIHC).

The Board meets monthly in different venues around the borough and discusses key issues for the Dudley population and local priorities.

The next meeting takes place on Tuesday 7^th February 2023 from 9:30 am until 11:30 am and will be held at Brierley Hill Health and Social Care Centre in Brierley Hill.

People can attend the meeting in person and are invited to submit questions to the Board in advance.

Harry Turner, Chairman for DIHC, said: “Our Board meetings are a great way to find out what is happening locally in health and care and to see how decisions are made.

“We encourage people to come along and join us and see what progress has been made over the last month. We welcome questions from the public and the Board is always keen to hear perspectives from local people.

“If you have a question, please submit in advance of the meeting and we can respond.”

Philip King, Chief Operating Officer for DIHC, said: “This meeting will have a focus on our First Contact Mental Health Practitioners, and we will hear first-hand about the impact their service has with patients.

We will also look at the feedback from our public conversation on High Oak Surgery and consider the next steps.”

Members of the public who would like to attend the meeting or send a question in advance should email

For more information, visit the DIHC website www.dihc.nhs.uk/about-the-trust/our-trust-board

Black Country NHS innovates through winter

Written on 30 January 2023.

New facilities, exciting digital innovations and thousands of extra appointments are just some of the ways the NHS in the Black Country has been working to manage unprecedented pressures this winter.

The Black Country was one of the best performing areas in the West Midlands for urgent care during December, despite record levels of demand. The system had some of the lowest A&E waiting times in the region, even though local emergency departments saw nearly 20,000 more patients than they did in December 2021.

Health leaders from across the hospital, primary care and community sectors have been working together to stand up a wide range of new ways of working, all aimed at supporting the NHS to help patients during the winter months.

These include:

A system control centre that monitors demand on urgent care services across the Black Country in real time and supports NHS trusts to help each other during times of peak pressure.
Updated configurations in hospitals to improve patient flow, including a new ambulance receiving centre in Wolverhampton and a dedicated discharge hub in Sandwell.
“Virtual wards” are freeing up hospital beds by enabling suitable patients to be monitored from the comfort of their own home and have cared for more than 3,500 adults and children to date. Dudley’s pilot virtual children’s ward was a national first and has since been rolled out to all other Black Country trusts.
New ways of working in primary care, including more than 5,000 evening and weekend GP appointments every week, plus additional appointments with a range of professionals to ensure people are seen by the right clinician for their level of need. These changes mean around 4,000 more primary care appointments are now being delivered each month than before the pandemic.
Dedicated community hubs offering same day, face-to-face GP appointments for children and young people with respiratory symptoms (those affecting the lungs and airways). The pilot hub in Sandwell saw more than 9,000 patients in its first year and was able to add extra capacity to support worried parents during the recent rise in strep A infections.

Richard Beeken, Chief Executive of Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust and urgent and emergency care lead for the Black Country, said: “The NHS and our partners across the system were in no doubt that this was set to be our most challenging winter yet, but it is our duty to work together to ensure we continue to deliver the best services we can for local people.

“I am proud of how our staff across the Black Country have stepped up to see us all through this pressured period – from those who devised and embedded innovations that have fundamentally improved how we deliver urgent care, through to those working flat out on the front lines providing compassion and quality care to patients needing our services. However, we recognise that some patients are waiting for longer than we would want, and we apologise for this.”

Jonathan Fellows, Chair of NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board, said: “This has been a tough winter: we have seen hundreds hospitalised by aggressive strains of the flu, a major cold snap that impacted the health of some of our most vulnerable citizens, a surge in strep A infections in children that was very worrying for parents and carers, and all while COVID-19 was still circulating in the community.

“I want to thank all our NHS staff for their hard work this winter, as well as the local people who are supporting us at this time by using our services appropriately. The NHS is very much open and here for you, so if you are worried about anything please don’t hesitate to come forward – use NHS 111 online in the first instance to get fast advice and ensure you’re seen by the right expert at the right time.”