Monthly archives: December 2020

COVID-19 Bulletin: Tuesday 22 December

If a message is in the bulletin, then it means all colleagues need to know about it. It is your responsibility to read the bulletin every day and if you think of a way to improve the bulletin, please let us know by emailing swbh.comms@nhs.net.

 All the messages that are published in the bulletin are signed off during our daily Trust tactical meeting, and you can find the latest information about our COVID response on Connect here. Please take the time to keep yourself updated and safe.

1. New: Fears for Tiers – Test before you travel to work

The new Tier guidelines that have come into force across the country, but in particular within the South and East of England have caused confusion and frustration for a number of colleagues. Not just because of Christmas plans being scuppered, but for some the possibility of having to cross tier boundaries, even Tier 4, on the commute in to work.

For clarity, as NHS workers we are all able to travel in to work as part of the guidelines. Even those who may be affected by Tier 4 guidelines, as explained on the GOV.uk website’s Coronavirus section:

“Where people cannot do so – including, but not limited to, people who work in critical national infrastructure, construction, or manufacturing – they should continue to travel to their workplace. This is essential to keeping the country operating and supporting sectors and employers.

 Public sector employees working in essential services, including childcare or education, should continue to go into work.”

If you work in a clinical capacity and you are from or travel through one of these areas and are concerned please ensure you regularly carry out your lateral flow test. These are designed to help identify any asymptomatic COVID positive cases and helps ensure we are playing our part in keeping patients, fellow NHS colleagues and our families safe.

Thousands of frontline colleagues have received the self-testing home kits, however only a relatively small percentage of results have been submitted so far. Recording these results could help to save lives, so it’s really important that each time you use the test your results – positive or negative – are submitted, as well as give you some additional peace of mind.

You can upload your test results here or via the link on Connect, but only when you are on the Trust network. If you carry out the test and it is positive, please ensure you contact your line manager immediately and book in for a PCR swab test to confirm the result.

The initial roll out of self-testing home kits for colleagues has now been completed. So, if you haven’t yet received a kit and work in a patient-facing area, please speak to your service lead and ask if they have included you in the submission that they have made for additional kits required.

Important information for managers distributing kits:

Please return your completed collected kits proforma to sandwell.adminhub@nhs.net along with the number of additional kits required.

2. Reminder: Do the right thing and bring back your scrubs

We must remind colleagues to return scrubs that they have stored or stockpiled at home. It is essential that colleagues abide by the rules and think of others by returning their scrubs. If everyone does this we will have enough to go round so that each time a colleague needs scrubs they can have a newly laundered pair.

Currently we do not have sufficient sets of scrubs to meet the increase in demand as many have disappeared, been worn or taken home, contrary to Trust policy.

All used scrubs must be placed in the blue trollies situated on the links and in departmental areas so they can be laundered and put back in to circulation.

Harsher penalties will be introduced should you not return scrubs. You will be challenged if caught in person or on camera arriving in or leaving the hospital in scrubs. There is no special circumstance that allows ANY colleague to disregard this rule.  

No scrubs rules:

• No scrubs should be stockpiled in lockers – they must be laundered regularly on site
• No scrubs should be binned, they should be deposited in to the blue trollies situated on the links and in departmental areas
• No scrubs should be worn outside the hospital or while travelling to and from hospital or taken home for laundering. By doing so you are putting yourself, your family and the public at risk.

3. Reminder: A welcome break for colleagues

Many staff will be working over the Christmas period caring for our patients. We know it can be a stressful time so it is important that you take a break. The Trust has expanded the Wellbeing Sanctuary onto both City and Sandwell sites, in a bid to offer more colleagues the opportunity to take a break away from wards and clinical areas. These new spaces are open to all colleagues, and provide a place to chill out, relax, unwind and recharge your batteries from 21 – 24 December  and 29 – 31 December from 8am to 4pm week days.

The wellbeing rooms are located at:

• Room 14\15 at Sandwell Education Centre
• The Dining Room at Post Graduate Centre City

Free refreshments including tea and coffee and individually wrapped biscuits and snacks will be provided. Relaxing background music will be playing to help colleagues switch off, enjoy the moment, and get the most from their break. On using the rooms you’ll be expected to adhere to current IPC rules including social distancing, using hand sanitiser and wearing face masks appropriately.

To dip or not to dip – Test your knowledge on UTIs

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a common diagnosis in community and inpatient settings in our Trust. The infection is caused by bacteria in the urine, and is treated with short courses of antibiotics. However evidence is now showing that clinicians should show caution when reaching for the dip sticks when diagnosing UTIs in older patients.

The presence of bacteria in urine causing infection can be suggested by the symptoms that the patient has – for example pain, frequency and strong smell when passing urine, and is often confirmed by the use of a urine dip stick test which can test for blood and bacteria.

However one fact that is often overlooked is that it is possible for patients to have bacteria in their urine, but not have an underlying infection. This occurs in up to 50% of patients over the age of 65 years, and up to 100% of patients who have a urinary catheter in situ.

It is for this very reason that we advise that urine dip sticks should not be used to diagnose UTI in patients over 65 years old, or any patient with a catheter.

Test your knowledge on identifying and treating UTIs and be in with a chance to win a ‘Pamper Hamper’.

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/SWBHUTI

Progress at your New Hospital: Midland Met

Despite the current pandemic, progress continues to be made with the building of our brand new Midland Metropolitan University Hospital which we plan to open in 2022.

Be sure to check out this video to find out more!

For more information regarding everything Midland Met, please contact rachel.barlow2@nhs.net.

Supporting your mental health and wellbeing

Your wellbeing is extremely important and even more so at the current time. To ensure you receive the support you may need please complete the wellbeing surveys which can be found at the link below.

Note: If you scroll down the page there is a short video called “Supporting Your Mental Wellbeing” which explains what they are, why they are important and what happens once they are completed.

https://connect2.swbh.nhs.uk/od/occupational-health-and-wellbeing-service/wellbeing-assessments/

Please do remember to include your correct ESR number or NHS email address when completing the surveys.

Bank holidays for bank workers

The official Bank Holidays for bank workers are as follows:

• Friday 25 December
• Monday 28 December
• Friday 1 January

The following days will attract the level of pay listed below:

• Friday 25 December – Bank Holiday rates
• Saturday 26 December – Saturday rates
• Sunday 27 December – Sunday rates
• Monday 28 December – Bank Holiday rates
• Friday 1 January – Bank Holiday rates

Any queries please contact email swb-tr.trustbankrequest@nhs.net. For payroll specific queries please email swb-tr.SWBH-GM-Payroll-OffMgr@nhs.net.

Please ensure you have your weighing scales available for checking

Representatives from Marsden Weighing Scales will be coming all our sites throughout December to carry out the service on weight scales on the below dates. Please ensure your weighing scales are easily accessible so that they can be serviced.

Should you have any queries please contact Mark Batram on ext. 4849.

Drug safety notice and supply issues

We are having a number of issues with the supply of a variety of drugs due to defects and shortages. Please see below information sheets regarding various drugs and instructions to follow due to supply issues.

• Sodium Bicarbonate 1.26% Polyfusor Shortage
• Sodium Chloride 1.8% and 2.7% Polyfusor Shortage
• Lorazepam 4mg in 1ml injection shortage
• Metaraminol 2.5mg in 5ml Injection

For more information please contact the pharmacy department (City ext. 5263, Sandwell ext. 3783).

Pharmacy opening times throughout the festive period

Please see the below opening times for our pharmacy departments across our sites during the festive period.

Note: The emergency rooms will be restocked on a daily basis and the pharmacist on-call service will be running outside of these hours.

For more information please contact the pharmacy department (City ext. 5263, Sandwell ext. 3783).

Heartbeat: Day nursery gets hands on in garden project

Children from the Sandwell Day Nursery have been getting their tiny hands dirty as part of a new and innovative garden project.

The garden project is based outside of Hallam restaurant and is part of the Trust’s plan to further developing our Sandwell Hospital site.

“The green-fingered nursery children have been planting a whole host of herbs, vegetables and fruits all as part of our community allotment,” said Emma Collier, Day Nursery Manager.

“From garlic, chilli, lettuce and Swiss chard to broad beans, sage chives, mint and curry plants the children have been planting the lot! A couple of them even added wind spinners and garden ornaments too.”

The project is just the start of a year-round allotment development which aims to educate the young children.

Toni Carr, Deputy Nursery Manager, thinks the gardening and planting of crops and vegetables is a great source of learning for the children. She said: “It’s fantastic to educate our children about where foods come from and what seeds can become. The learning will also play a part in encouraging the nursery children to eat healthily and the huge benefits of a balanced diet that will only help them long term.”

Emma believes the sensory gardens will increase positivity and make the entrance to the Hallam Restaurant more eye catching for colleagues and patients alike. She said: “What our children have started will eventually become a garden where people can sit and reflect and take time to relax. It will be topped off with the magnolia tree in memory of Veena Terpot who sadly passed away earlier this year as well as the memorial wall where people can remember their loved ones.”

She added: “Further down the line, with the support of our Andrew Mould and his team. We’re planning to have a bug hotel for children and visitors to spot the bugs, and we’re hopeful we will be able to plant butterfly and free friendly flowers.”

Don’t forget the garden project isn’t just for the Sandwell day nursery but for all our colleagues to get involved too! If you would like to play your part in the project, please contact andrew.mould@nhs.net.

COVID-19 Bulletin: Monday 21 December

If a message is in the bulletin, then it means all colleagues need to know about it. It is your responsibility to read the bulletin every day and if you think of a way to improve the bulletin, please let us know by emailing swbh.comms@nhs.net.

 All the messages that are published in the bulletin are signed off during our daily Trust tactical meeting, and you can find the latest information about our COVID response on Connect here. Please take the time to keep yourself updated and safe.

1. New: One sequel no one wanted to see this Christmas…

Colleagues will be aware of all the changes to Government policy over the weekend, affecting many areas but in particular the South of England, including London. Many of you will have been affected in one way or another by these changes already with regard to your plans for Christmas week and we as an organisation feel it too. Not only must we be wary of the reasons for these changes – namely the new mutation of COVID-19 – but the possibility of any knock-on effects on progress now we’ve past what we believe is the peak of Wave 2.

What is the new version of COVID-19?

The new virus variant (VUI-202012/01) has numerous genetic changes, including to the ‘spike protein’ – which control how it binds to human cells. This means that it is transmissible far more than the dominant strain that has been circulating for months, about 70%-75% more so, based on estimates.

Whilst we don’t know if the new variant will be easier for clinical services to deal with, it presently accounts for 60% of new cases in London and 10% in the East of England. The impact on the R rate from this strain alone is believed to be 0.4, which gives you an idea as to the seriousness.

What must we do?

The key thing we must all do is continue to observe the infection control guidelines we have laid out; in particular around Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) (including the use of masks), being bare below the elbows and appropriate social distancing.

Along with the addition of the Very High infection risk area, which has its own PPE requirements beyond those of a regular Red ward, earlier this month we rolled additional updates to the PPE guidance which you can view in full here.

Here is a reminder of the key changes:

• Colleagues carrying out a single Aerosol Generated Procedure (AGP), for example intubation, extubation, tracheomtomy, suctioning or those having close contact with a patient, should wear a single use gown with full sleeves with a plastic apron over the gown. Please remove the gown after the task is completed.
• For sessional work within a VERY HIGH RISK area or an AGP area (for example D17), a sessional gown with rolled up sleeves (BARE BELOW THE ELBOWS) should be worn. Colleagues should wear a disposable plastic apron over the sessional use gown and change this in between patients. Please wash your hands and arms in between patients.
• Eye protection should be worn for sessional use in both Amber and High Risk areas.

This guidance is for ward areas only (not Critical Care) and for patient-facing clinical colleagues.

If you are visiting the ward from another area, a minimum requirement when entering the unit will be to wear a mask (please note: staff must follow their individual risk assessment for PPE).

Additionally it is vital that lifts identified as “red” are only used to transfer red stream patients. They should not be used for any other purpose and require the correct PPE being worn in all lifts to reduce risk of infection transmission.  You will see the signs on the floor directly in front of the door to the lift. There are also limits on the number of people able to use lifts at any one time. Please ensure you travel safely.

The guidance must be followed so as we maintain strong infection prevention and control measures across all our sites.

2. New: Opportunity to become a COVID-19 vaccination hospital hub

Some good news to share: Over the weekend we were informed we could be part of the second wave of vaccination hospital hubs to be announced in coming weeks. While we await details of when this will be, preparations are well underway to ensure we are ready when the announcement is made. More information will be shared when confirmation is received.

Further to our update last week a large number of colleagues who are very high and high risk and those who work in areas of high risk exposure have already taken advantage of the vaccine appointment slots provided by Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust. We will continue to offer appointments to colleagues in these categories as slots become available.

For more information about the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine please visit our connect page.

 3. Update: Christmas visiting arrangements for inpatients

A further update regarding the proposed changes to visiting arrangements over Christmas which we last spoke about on Friday.

Unfortunately due to the changing situation as mentioned above, there will now be no opening up of visiting over the Christmas period. Our current guidance will remain in place.

Groups are encouraged to check that the video call technology installed in wards earlier in Wave 1 is operating properly, that no one requires any further training for its use and to begin arrangements to ensure patients are able wherever possible to speak to their families on Christmas Day.