Talk BWC
Talk BWC is our monthly publication for patients, visitors, families and staff, which is packed with the latest news and features from across our Trust.
You'll also find our regular features of:
- Thoughts and Feedback
- Star of the Month
- A Few Minutes With...
- Charity News
Newspapers are available to pick up from drop-boxes in prominent locations across our Women's and Children's Hospital sites.
You can also download a free e-edition straight to your phone, tablet, laptop or computer.
Download the April 2025 edition of talk BWC
Links to every edition produced can be found below.
talk BWC 2024
talk BWC — December 2024 - Our Christmas edition sees Baby Chester home in time for Christmas, we celebrate our first DAISY award winners and Alex and Esmay share their stories of not letting their conditions hold them back.
Delilah’s family share the power of the Gift of Life, our Prematurity Prevent team are thanked by mum, Emma after expert care for her baby and our Director of Midwifery and Deputy Chief Nurse, Rachel Carter, collects her MBE.
talk BWC — October 2024Freya makes an incredible tribute to our Children’s Hospital, baby Finn celebrates his first birthday after expert NICU care and we reveal our brilliant BWC Spirit Award finalists.
BCH superstars shine at Golden Transplant Games, Isaac is seizure-free after a complex epilepsy surgery and Midwife, Alison receives a prestigious national silver award for her gold-standard bereavement care.
We’re sharing the story of baby joy as little Noelle arrives following endometriosis treatment, helpful tips to make World Breastfeeding Week and Mental Health Nurse, Lydia, whose career path was inspired by her brother, Gavin.
Little Henry’s mum is encouraging everyone to ‘have the chat’ on organ donation, we’re celebrating the launch of the DAISY Awards at BWC and mum, Sophie is sharing her story of gut instinct helping to save newborn Rory.
We’re proudly celebrating the world of colleagues across the Trust, sharing Rebecca’s ‘perfect’ homebirth story along with the incredible work of colleagues across the Trust to tackle health inequalities.
Join us in celebrating our long-serving colleagues, meet Charlie who’s vowed to pack a punch as boxing training after heart surgery and little Albie who dreams of being a marine biologist after multiple surgeries to treat a rare condition.
Read the incredible story of baby Richie who’s embracing life over limb after batting sepsis and Strep A, meet Oscar who shares his CTD story for Rare Diseases Day Awareness and Reggie who got a new kidney through collaboration between our Children’s Hospital and Nottingham Children’s Hospital.
talk BWC — March 2024 Learn all about baby Thomas’s recovery after a diagnosis of the rare disease, botulism, Tayschelice who won an award for championing sickle cell awareness and our very own Zamir Hussain who released a new book to help bereaved parents.
talk BWC — February 2024Meet Anderson, who went from the operating theatre to the ‘Theatre of Dreams’, read Harry’s incredible story for World Heart Month and join us as we reveal the newly-refurbished Cath Lab.
talk BWC — January 2024Discover Daniel’s F1 dreams after open-heart surgery, join us in celebrating the opening of our Children’s Hospital Wellbeing Hub and learn more about our pioneering allergy awareness project.
talk BWC 2023
talk BWC — December 2023Our festive edition of Talk BWC is stuffed with incredible stories from mum Kate sharing the story of her miracle baby, unveiling the plaque dedicated to Shelia Jones, and Lottie sharing the Gift of Life message after being the youngest person ever to have a successful liver transplant.
Lily defines all odds to take her first steps after being diagnosed with Sturge Weber Syndrome, we share the winners of our BWC Spirit Award winners and celebrate two years of our VR project with plans to build on the success.
In October, TV star Vicky McClure paid a surprise visit to our Children's Hospital, plans to redevelop our Women's Hospital were approved and George had his first day of school after life-saving surgery just six months prior.
The BCH superstars are the Best Children's Team at the British Transplant games for the 25th year running, our Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer, Daljit Athwal, was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree and Evie is thriving at home after battling a mystery condition.
talk BWC — August 2023After more than 600 days in hospital due to a rare condition, Noah finally returned home to his family, we celebrated 75 years of the NHS and welcomed Myleene Class to our Women's hospital to raise awareness of pioneering miscarriage care.
July saw BWC Professor Arri Coomarasamy recognised by His Majesty the King for his research work, Kristof travelled to Perth, Australia to fly the flag for Great Britain at the World Transplant Games and we celebrated 100 years of Clinical Chemistry at BCH.
Our most popular issue of talk BWC to date, meet Wilfred who recovered with us after a horrific accident, meet our new Chief Executive, and celebrate both International Day of the Midwife and International Nurses' Day.
May 2023 saw us celebrating our fantastic nurses and midwives, the launch of our iMRI appeal, Yvonne receiving national recognition for her service and a round-up of our annual Long Service Awards - where we celebrated more than 11,000 years of NHS experience across the Trust.
talk BWC - April 2023Learn about Arthur's journey with Hydrocephalus, Evie's gift of life in the form of a kidney donated by her dad, our super sedation project celebrating its 100th patient and meet our charity superstars at the Pride of Birmingham awards.
talk BWC - March 2023Find out how Bayley went from hospital bed to ice hockey rink, celebrate our LGBTQ+ Staff Network Gaydio Pride Award and join James on his visit to 10 Downing Street.
talk BWC - February 2023Read about a very special Christening for preemie twins, catch up with Clara 12 months after receiving the Gift of Life and meet parents-to-be, Anna and Pete, who are looking forward to a home birth.
talk BWC - January 2023Meet our Director of Philanthropy and Partnerships, learn about our trial for early diabetes detection and catch up with what we did over the festive period.
talk BWC 2022
Find out more about our Penguin Parade and how we're supporting colleagues throughout the winter, read how Heather, our very own Junior Sister is using her experience to raise awareness for World Prematurity Day, and how a student nurse took to learning Welsh to comfort a patient.
Join us in celebrating the wonderful BWC staff through our BWC Spirit Awards feature, and learn more about our Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer, Daljit Athway.
Be inspired by Alfred the Pirate's inspiring Neurofibromatosis story, and how Ruby danced her way back after a burns injury.
We're applauding the BCH Superstars who brought back 25 gold medals from the Transplant games, welcoming our new Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer and celebrating 160 years of the Children's Hospital.
Join us for a wedding on the ward, meet our Brummy Mums celebrating breastfeeding week and learn about the work beginning on our new bereavement centre.
Hannah Hampton becomes a Charity ambassador for our Children's Hospital, Chief Executive Sarah-Jane receives a CBE and our journey towards decarbonisation begins.
Celebrating Erin's brain surgery recovery, our wonderful Star of the Month and our By Your Side mentorship programme.
Beth shares her story to help raise awareness of Hydrocephalus and patients of Birmingham Children's Hospital strut their stuff on the catwalk and help raise money for our charity.
Meet Betsy, who's become somewhat of a social media sensation and Charlie who's living with nephrotic syndrome.
We launch our See ME first campaign, and share the story of Jamie Lee, who underwent the first ever completed Moyamoya brain surgery at BCH.
Celebrating five years of BWC, the start of construction at Parkview, and our wonder Vital Services champion and star of the month.
We're starting the new year with a visit from an MP, introducing virtual reality to help reduce patients' anxiety, and accepting the delivery of a piece of kit, generously fundraised for by Elizabeth — a patient of BCH.
talk BWC 2021
Top dogs: National success is on the cards for our Young Persons' Advisory Group, Raki the Raccoon joins the BWC family as the mascot for Tracheostomy and the Trust welcomes a new women's network for staff in this month's edition of talk BWC.
Brave: Mum breaks baby loss silence in this edition of talk BWC to support other bereaved families. Forward Thinking Birmingham has a new look as the new website is officially launched and we reveal our Spirit Award Winners.
It's celebration time as two of our doctors take home PAFTAs and Forward Thinking Birmingham launch a community project for World Mental Health Day. Also in this edition, Little Azaylia's special legacy lives on after family fundraising efforts reach £20,000.
Grab a cup of tea and have a read of September's edition of BWC talk and whilst you're at it, be sure to talk to your loved ones about your organ donation choices. This month team Dermatology win big with a top award for the Children's Hospital.
Take a look at our new pioneering surgical technique in children's cancer surgery, Check out our genomics podcast and Our abseil returns – bigger and better than ever. Take a deep dive into the footy as our children prepare for the three lions to take to the pitch.
Colleagues take a huge leap of faith for our youth mental health charity appeal as Ben Francis, the founder of GymShark is introduced as our first-ever Charity Patron. In this issue, we also share how we can all do our bit to tackle modern slavery.
In this edition of talk BWC, we say goodbye to our inspirational Liver Unit founder Professor Deirdre Kelly CBE as she retires after 30 years. Also in this issue, we introduce the Safaa Alam Maternity Safety Learning Scholarship and remember colleagues and friends lost in the pandemic.
Celebrate our nurses this May in talk BWC, have a peek at our unique Heart Valve Bank service which aids UK transplants and grab your tissues as Birmingham Poet Laureate and friend of our charity, Casey Bailey has written a tear-jerker of a poem about our Woodland house.
Join us in this edition of talk BWC to celebrate International Women's Day. Gemma scoops the Women in Security accolade, Mental Health staff are praised after their busiest ever year and Kyra talks about swapping care for a research career.
Find out all the latest news on the Big Build in this edition of talk BWC as we sit down with YPAG member, Beth Dennis. In this edition, we also have some top tips to help you stop smoking this National No Smoking Day.
BWC tough cookies fight back against COVID-19 as the vaccination programme continues, National Apprenticeship week is in full swing and body combat cop raises £1,200 punching for bereaved families. This month's talk BWC has all the top tips on keeping your children safe at home during lockdown.
On your Bike: Fancy kicking off 2021 in style? Ride with us to Brussels in the latest issue of talk BWC. Read about the 2020 home birth success story, take a break from the fizz this Dry January with Natalie Daley, Public Health Consultant at BWC and get nostalgic looking back at what a year 2020 was.
talk BWC 2020
Winner, Winner chicken dinner: BBC documentary Life and Birth featuring BWH receives a Midlands Royal Television Society Documentary award. There's positive funding news for our mental health services at BWC and we're helping to increase awareness of main diabetes symptoms.
In this month's issue of talk BWC, the Burns team warn about the dangers of fireworks, The Willows parent accommodation opens its doors, the expertise of NHS teams helps mum and premature twins win their COVID-19 battles and a new campaign calls on Birmingham to fight for youth mental health.
Beware of the Battery: BWC raises awareness of the dangers of batteries in this month's issue of talk BWC and our Children's Hospital experts are leading the way with groundbreaking eye treatment. Go myth busters: team BWC busts some myths surrounding flu vaccines.
Opening the doors: BWC hosts the first ever virtual recruitment day in this month's talk BWC, inspirational Sarah is recognised with O2's Everyday Hero Award and an act of kindness helps brave Alayna get a special doll. You'll also hear from our latest Vital Services Chair's Champion.
Moving on up: Team BWH makes the big move to Lavender House. Birmingham and beyond rally round to answer our call for help, meanwhile Think4Brum's Zaynab receives the prestigious Diana Award. Read talk BWC to see how our new virtual mental health services are supporting people.
There is a first time for everything… BCH launches a virtual choir hospital-wide and our Isolation bike-a-thon raises over £470. On the telly, BBC Life and Birth series airs on BBC1. Get your groove on with Alison Hammond, Bradley Simpson, James Blunt and Beverly Knight at BWC's Virtual Big Gig in June's talk BWC.
Ready and raring to go… our new women's hospital build. Our Breast milk bank is appealing for donations and Gymshark's #NHSSweatySelfie is encouraging us all to get fit and healthy. Read the latest issue to find out about our CEO taking on a national role in the COVID-19 pandemic response.
In this issue of talk BWC, you can join us on our virtual chick watch. Our CEO praises staff for COVID-19 efforts and you can see how our surgeons are pioneering a new technique to save babies born without an oesophagus.
March's edition of talk BWC welcomes a new treatment to help CF patients. We're also exploring Children's Mental Health Week, the Car benefit scheme hitting the road and inspirational Cerys shares her experiences and how she's supporting others through cancer their journey.
Take a moment to Pause with Forward Thinking Birmingham in this month's edition of talk BWC. Would you look at that? Norton Court's work continues to progress. Read the latest issue to see how another milestone has been reached for Woodland House.
Keep right on as the Blues make a visit to our children's hospital alongside rival Brummie team Aston Villa. New year, new you? Give it up to raise money for our children in our new fundraising missions and follow along our sustainability journey in this month's edition of talk BWC.
talk BWC 2019
Will you be left puzzled? Have a go at our puzzle challenge in this month’s talk BWC. This month, we welcome a new inclusion ambassador. Get merry with our Christmas carol concert, get involved in our big festive knit and give a gift with a difference.
This month’s talk BWC welcomes good news for our #lockoutflu campaign, Mandy helps to spread breast cancer awareness on this issue and has anyone seen Bertie the Bear?
Hello October and hello to our brand-new comfort Kitchen, which you can read about in this month’s issue of talk BWC. Absolutely fabulous darling… Joanna Lumley makes an appearance alongside Felicity Dahal to unveil new artwork at BCH. It wasn’t just Joanna making an appearance we also had a visit from our favourite Gruffalo and the CBeebies crew came to visit our radiology department.
Roll the camera… read this month's talk BWC to hear about how BWC will feature on a brand-new BBC six-part series. Have a few minutes with David Cumpston, Specialist Nurse for Organ Donation and read all about how the BC Transplant Games team got a coveted title for the 23rd time. Sit down grab a cuppa and have a read of the September edition of talk BWC.
Have read to hear about the grand opening of Crussh, our new juice, smoothie and healthy fast food bar. You don’t want to miss that. Get to know our furry friend, Felicity the therapy dog and check out our new rainbow badge pledge. You can also have a peek at our brand new 18/19 Annual trust report.