COVID-19 Bulletin: Wednesday 22 July

July 22, 2020

This is our weekly bulletin and will be issued every Wednesday. Please use this bulletin and cascade arrangements within care and corporate groups to guide your actions. 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.

Numbers not statistics: Today’s totals (last week’s data)

1. Wearing the right PPE for procedures

Colleagues are reminded that it is safe to carry out procedures on patients as long as the correct PPE is worn. Fluid resistant surgical masks (FRSMs) must be worn at all times in our clinical buildings and when treating patients. Strict hand hygiene, social distancing (where possible) and surface cleaning should occur as normal. If you are within one metre of a patient then a face visor should be also worn. When treating suspected COVID patients, the appropriate risk assessed masks should be worn. This includes within ED when assessing patients. Full PPE should be worn when aerosol generating procedures (AGP) are undertaken including an FFP3 face mask.

For more detail on the type of masks to use click here.

2. Complete your COVID-19 risk assessment now

Thank you to the 4,200 colleagues who have already completed their COVID-19 risk assessments. This needs to be completed by 31 July. It only takes a few seconds to complete by using the online form or the risk assessment calculator and sending it to swbh.riskassessmentoh@nhs.net. The occupational health team will then respond to you with actions required.

This is an important assessment which takes into account your individual risk of COVID-19, in light of underlying health conditions, age, gender and ethnicity. The occupational health team are continuing to carry out these risk assessments for people who request them which can be booked by calling 0121 507 3306 or emailing swbh.riskassessmentoh@nhs.net.

For more information click here.

3. Working from home guidance remains in place

Our current guidelines for working from home remain in place until the end of August. You are able to read the guide here.  We will continue to evaluate what is best for you and the services we provide.

With that in mind, our safe office space review is continuing with assessments of over 500 offices completed to date. There will also be engagement over long-term work from home arrangements during the summer. This longer-term strategy will reflect learnings from over the last three months and look to put arrangements on a firmer and more contractual footing that will carry the Trust through the period to 2023. This ensures fairness for existing and new employees and clarity about eligibility and decision making. We expect this longer-term guidance to see more home working than prior to COVID-19, mindful of social distancing and the open plan nature of office accommodation in particular in the Trust’s estate from 2022.

Pictured is Lesley McDonagh,Clinical Lead Nurse, Tissue Viability Team, who is currently working from home as she has to shield due to a medical condition.

4. Swabbing patients – Do you know when and how often you should be swabbing?

It is vital that inpatients are not only placed in the right care environment (Red, Lilac, Blue ward) but also that swabbing is carried out appropriately and effectively in each environment.

Remember:

1. Every patient MUST be swabbed on admission.
2. Patients on Lilac wards MUST be swabbed every 3 days.
3. Patients on Blue wards MUST be swabbed every 5 days.

Follow the Trust’s pathway here.

Guidance for those being treated at the Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre and surgical patients is as follows for patients undergoing the following procedures:

1. Emergency life/sight threatening then proceed as high risk – result unknown, screening in place
2. Elective  (Aerosol Generating Procedure – AGP) – swab required
3. Any AGP process – full PPE must be worn
4. Local (i.e. injections/eye/joint) – no swab required but screening should be undertaken and patients risk assessed and determined safe to proceed.

Alongside swabbing at the right time, it’s critical that swabbing is carried out using the right swabbing kit and collected in the right manner.

White\Green\Yellow swab kits should be used for all inpatient swabs and for retesting in blue and lilac areas. Black swabs are only for urgent testing in pre-agreed areas.

Guidance on how to collect samples is available in the linked document.

COVID-19 Patient Swabbing Guidance

Where swabs are taken, colleagues must ensure that they are hand delivered to the pathology departments as soon as possible so that they can be tested and reported without delay. Samples must not be left on wards for extended periods of time as this significantly delays the time taken to report results and ultimately puts patients and colleagues at risk.

 Triple bagging swab samples for safety

Remember when you are bagging your swab sample, you must ensure the red topped bottle is first put in a clear specimen bag, this should then be placed in a clear zip lock bag and finally packaged in a blue specimen bag alongside any paperwork.

5. NHS staff convalescent plasma donation

Colleagues who have recovered from COVID-19 are being prioritised for convalescent plasma donation.

Convalescent plasma is the antibody-rich plasma of people who have recovered from COVID-19, which can be transfused into people who are still ill.

Dr Zahid Sarfaz, one of our A&E doctors based at Sandwell Hospital became one of the first to donate his plasma to NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) after he had recovered from COVID-19. He said: “Everybody has been playing their part. I am hoping that by donating plasma I can help too, plus it’s easy to donate. NHSBT primarily contact potential convalescent plasma donors directly. It is important that potential donors have recovered and that they have had time to develop a good antibody response. If people have a confirmed positive test result and they are willing to donate, they can also provide details via a form on the NHSBT website.”

NHS colleagues should call 0300 123 23 23, say they want to donate convalescent plasma and explain they work for the NHS. They will then be given priority. They can also provide their details by going to www.nhsbt.nhs.uk

Many early convalescent plasma donors have been GPs, hospital doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and allied health and clerical professionals.

6. The mental health impact of COVID-19 survey

 Stat-Stress have put together a survey aimed at NHS colleagues based in the West Midlands area  which evaluates the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression, and post-traumatic psychological growth during the COVID-19 pandemic.

You can complete the survey by clicking the link: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/SSC-19

7. Communicating with hard of hearing patients

A number of colleagues have recognised that it can be difficult to communicate with patients who are hard of hearing whilst wearing a mask.

The Google Live Transcribe app is a great way to communicate with these patients as this video shows.

The app is free to download and is accurate when transcribing your words.

You can download the app here onto your mobile phone.