Skip to content Skip to main menu Skip to utility menu

COVID-19 Bulletin: Sunday 31 May

May 31, 2020

This is our seven days a week bulletin. Please use this bulletin and cascade arrangements within care and corporate groups to guide your actions. Throughout June we are determined to reduce avoidable harm and death in the people we are taking care of. Kindness remains the guiding principle of all the actions in our work to tackle the virus – kindness in how we look after patients, visitors, and one another.

We understand today that the government has relaxed some parts of its shielding guidance. Staff who are shielding are under no obligation to return to the workplace. We will continue to work with you as individuals as the national policy position evolves over the coming weeks. The personalisation of the COVID-19 strategy locally means we need to understand specific risks, and our new risk assessment tool which goes live this Thursday will help us to do that.

Numbers not statistics: Today’s totals (Yesterday’s totals)

Number of our patients confirmed with COVID-19 during the pandemic Number of positive COVID-19 patients who have been discharged during the pandemic Number of patients who have died in our hospitals who tested positive for COVID-19 during the pandemic Number of patients entered by the Trust into a COVID-19 research trial to date Number of COVID-19 positive patients who are inpatients with us today Number of our staff absent due to ill-health or isolation today
1273
(1273		 835
(834)		 355
(355)		 138
(137)		 85
(84)		 –
(593)

1. Do you wash your hands the NHS way?

Washing your hands thoroughly and frequently is essential to prevent transmission of COVID-19.

All colleagues must wash their hands or use hand sanitiser on entering and exiting clinical areas. You are reminded of the five moments of handwashing:

  1. Before touching a patient
  2. Before clean/aseptic procedures
  3. After body fluid exposure/risk
  4. After touching a patient
  5. After touching patient surroundings.

Read the full article here.

2. Health and safety review of office accommodation

From next week the Trust’s Health and Safety team will begin visits to all of our office accommodation. The purpose of their visit is to risk assess each workplace in light of the government’s guidelines on working safely during COVID-19 in offices and contact centres, that is supported by PHE and the Health and Safety Executive.

The team will aim to cause as little disruption as possible but may need to take some measurements of distances between desks for example, in which case you may need to leave your office for a few minutes. The results of the office risk assessments will inform our discussions on future ways of working, including working from home.

3. Supporting care homes

Through the work of our community teams, we have strong relationships with many care homes that are sited within the Birmingham and Sandwell areas. During the COVID-19 pandemic we enhanced the support that our dedicated care homes team provides by extending to a seven day service. We worked with care homes, local authority and public health colleagues to develop a daily reporting system that tells us which care homes need support that can include training, clinical advice, help with equipment, PPE and FIT-testing. Our teams are helping with end of life care and infection prevention and control advice including our PPE van that has visited homes to provide on-site training in donning and doffing. Care homes have been part of our community swabbing response and some of our shielding colleagues are providing regular telephone advice and support.

Donations received by the Trust are routinely shared with care homes and one of our partner charities, Kissing it Better, have been out visiting care home providing socially distanced entertainment outside for residents to enjoy from their windows. Care homes are an essential part of the health and social care system so it is vital that they form a central part of our COVID-19 response.

4. Let’s help you look after you

Dealing with the pandemic has put a toll on many of us, working longer hours, having feelings of anxiety and even fear. It is therefore now, more important than ever, to look after your own health and wellbeing. A range of resources and support are on offer for all colleagues including 24/7 access to confidential counsellors including a wealth of support and information on our dedicated Connect pages.

The Trust has also temporarily turned the building which hosts the Learning Works team into a wellbeing sanctuary. It is open and available to you five days a week offering a range of services including massages, meditation, mindfulness and hypnosis.

The wellbeing sanctuary is based at the Learning Works, Unett Street, Smethwick, B66 3SY. Daily sanctuary sessions include:

  1. Deep Relaxation and Breathing through Soundscape – Travel from the peaks of the Himalayas to the depth of the oceans of Bali relaxing in a harmonious tranquillity.
  2. Music Therapy – A time to find inner stillness through the tranquillity of relaxing sound vibrations.
  3. Restorative Clinical Supervision (Health and Wellbeing Lead) – A safe and confidential space to explore the impact of work pressures.
  4. Unwind with Mindfulness – Breath and Relax. Enjoy the session of being present and the power of connection and self-kindness.

To book an appointment contact the team on 0121 507 5886. Read the full article here.

5. National Breastfeeding Celebration Week

National Breastfeeding Celebration Week begins tomorrow (1 June), and our Infant Feeding team has reported a rise in rates – partly linked to the coronavirus pandemic. Led by Louise Thompson, the team are continuing to support new mums by holding face-to-face and virtual clinics, giving them reassurance and advice. Rates have increased by 6 per cent to 86 per cent. Mums have told the team that they are able to spend more time at home practising and learning how to feed their babies.

Breastfeeding during the pandemic remains as important as ever, as an initial study of breast milk expressed by mothers recovering from COVID-19 found specific IgA antibodies against the virus in 80 per cent of milk samples. COVID-19 virus has not been found to be transmitted in breast milk, unlike other body fluids.

Please continue to support women to breastfeed if that is what they want to do, as it is designed to be protective – it isn’t just nutritional. When women are exposed to bacteria and viruses their body responds by sending specific antibodies to breastmilk. For more information on the protective nature of breastfeeding watch this film – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqDX7Hojojk 

For more information about all aspects of infant feeding including mixed feeding and formula feeding, please contact the Infant Feeding team on 07816061633. If you’ve had a difficult feeding experience, no matter when and would like someone to talk to about it you can contact Louise Thompson on 07976 499507 or  louisethompson@nhs.net.