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COVID-19 bulletin: Friday 3 April

April 3, 2020

This is our once a day bulletin. This will take all national and professional guidance and information and tell you which changes we are implementing when and how. Please use this bulletin and daily cascade arrangements within clinical groups to guide local action.  Remember KINDNESS is our watchword in implementing our plans.

Yesterday’s Bulletin confirmed that we would be staffing most services on a weekday basis over Easter Bank Holiday (April 10th-14th). For clarity pay rates will be on a bank holiday basis as per terms and conditions of service. We appreciate you will still be away from loved ones.  Thank you.

  1. Dealing with grief and loss

We have support in place on our City and Sandwell Hospital sites to help people who are dealing with feelings of grief and loss, recognising the very tragic patient deaths that have occurred at our Trust and in other hospitals across our region. On Saturday our independent, confidential counsellor Linda Davies will be on site at City Hospital from 8am to check in with colleagues (day and night). You can contact her directly on 07973 664125 or pop in to see her at D20. Paulette Bassan from our chaplaincy team will be at Sandwell 10am – 3pm on Saturday walking the wards and can be contacted directly on 07967 893082. Eddie Briones and Eberneezer Asaju from our chaplaincy team will be available via bleep on Sunday to support colleagues. In addition, you can ask for an appointment directly with a confidential counsellor by calling 3306 or through Health Assured Counselling on 0800 783 2808 which is available 24/7.

We mourn the loss of our colleague, Areema Nasreen, in Walsall Manor earlier today.  Colleagues from our Trust and from primary and social care are currently being treated in our services and elsewhere.  Our thoughts are with them and those looking after them.

2. Getting into a hotel as soon as possible

For the last fortnight we have been asking you to think about relocating into one of our hotel rooms.  These are great options to protect those you share a home with, and to help ensure you are able to work as we tackle Covid-19.  You can access a hotel easily by emailing swbh.hotel-booking@nhs.net. And you can see more information about the hotels on offer here. If you receive a letter or email from us in the day ahead, please consider this option very seriously.  If you do not get a letter – you can still self-nominate for a hotel…

3. Changing job to support the fight against COVID-19

The Trust is now asking for colleagues to consider whether you can help support our response to the pandemic in a new way, by being part of a brigade that works in a different role. We need to ensure that vital roles such as distribution teams, portering, ward service officers and catering are sustained in the weeks ahead. You have an opportunity to volunteer to temporarily change your role and work in one of these areas by contacting volunteerbrigade.swbh@nhs.net – Read more information here.

4. Now wash your hands – Dr Mark explains PPE

By popular demand we are publishing Mark Anderson’s short film again. Please watch it.  Mark works in general medicine, on our GI wards and in endoscopy.

Dr Anderson explains that:

  • Washing your hands for 20 seconds and 2m social distancing are the most important things we can do as healthcare workers to protect ourselves
  • The order in which you put on and take off your PPE changes to the risk you face
  • Not everyone in a red area will be wearing the same PPE and that is ok

5. Making sure we are now only working for SWBH

The Trust has issued new guidance on rules about working for other organisations or for agencies.  In line with many other NHS organisations, and just for the period of the Covid-19 outbreak, we are rescinding our contractual permission to work for us and for someone else.  If you have queries about the latest guidance please contact our HR line on extension 3116.  We need to maximise our ability to safely staff our services but also try to ensure that we do not have healthcare workers operating in lots of different places with the potential to transfer infection risk. Read our GUIDANCE NOTE

6. Staff swabbing – latest news

Thank you to everyone working so hard to create staff swabbing in our Trust.  It has not always worked, and some samples a fortnight ago were not processed.  But for the vast majority of people using the service you have had a result or have one coming.  Hundreds of Trust staff have been tested.  A tribute to some very dedicated colleagues across PCCT who have organised the testing and run the vans, and to teams in Occupational health who have helped with results.  If you do get a result from the Boots service we started last Sunday, you must contact your line manager when you get your result.

To book an appointment for a staff swab this weekend please contact either 07816992873 or 07970428995 on Saturday and Sunday.  You must be recently symptomatic, ideally at day 3.

Next week’s testing regime is not wholly certain region-wide.  We will advertise more details on Sunday.  A new service opens at Edgbaston Cricket Ground supporting specific groups of key workers.  We will access to services into the Black Country Pathology laboratory.  Other options are opening up all the time, so, to repeat at message from earlier in the week make sure your contact details are on ESR.

This week rates of return from isolation have jumped.  Almost three quarters of people at the end of their period of isolation are returning now to work to join the fight.  Thank you.  Together we can keep staffing gaps down and support one another to care.