COVID-19 Bulletin: Monday 28 September
September 28, 2020
Welcome to a new week and a change to the COVID-19 bulletin. You may have noticed the last couple of bulletins have been a bit heavy on the updates, this is perhaps not surprising considering the changing situation we are seeing locally and nationally. From this week on, until things ease once again, we will be issuing the bulletin twice weekly on Monday and Thursday. The ‘numbers not statistics’ section you usually see below this introduction will return on Thursdays to maintain a weekly update.
Things are tough – and may well get tougher – but we remain determined to do what we can to reduce avoidable harm and death among those we are taking care of. Kindness must remain our watchword in all that we do.
1. New COVID-19 classification changes
Following recent national guidance relating to infection prevention and control we are moving to a new classification system for our services.
From Tuesday 29 September some of our planned admission areas where there are already stringent testing and isolation procedures in place for patients will become our new green areas. These are areas of low risk where patients have been self-isolating prior to attending or may have had a negative covid-19 swab result.
From Wednesday 30 September we will change our “blue” wards to the colour “amber” – nothing will change in terms of PPE or swabbing but this keeps us in line with the new national guidance.
Our current red areas will remain in place and as before these represent our high risk areas where patients with confirmed cases of COVID-19 are being treated or where there are aerosol generating procedures being undertaken. Lilac wards will also remain in place as an additional step down area for patients who have previously tested positive for COVID-19 or who have been in contact with COVID-19 positive patients.
Please ensure you are up to date with the status of the ward or area you are working in. Clear guidance on the PPE requirements of each area will be displayed on the posters at the entrance to each ward and department and all colour changes will be reflected on the homepage of Connect. The guidance on the new classifications is attached.
2. New swabbing guidance
Updated guidance is now available for the collection and processing of COVID-19 PCR swab testing. Colleagues should now be using white swabs with red topped containers to collect COVID-19 PCR swabs, these should also be used for urgent testing. Please print two extra labels and a request form for all COVID PCR requests
Where urgent PCR swabs are collected, colleagues must ensure that the ‘Urgent CEPHEID 2 Hour TAT’ sticker is attached to the outer blue transport bag.
Black swabs should no longer be used for patient sampling, any remaining stock in areas can be used for urgent testing in agreed priority areas only.
Remember:
- Every patient MUST be swabbed on admission.
- Patients on Lilac wards MUST be swabbed every 3 days.
- Patients on Blue\Amber wards MUST be swabbed every 5 days.
How a swab is collected is also extremely important.
The team has produced a quick ‘how to’ video that shows you how to collect and package a PCR swab for Coronavirus.
If the sample is urgent, please ensure the outer blue transport bag is clearly labelled with the appropriate ‘Urgent’ sticker and hand deliver to Pathology reception.
Further information on the changes to COVID-19 swabbing can be found in the attached document
3. Lending your support to Critical Care – Join the ICU Reservists Team
Thank you to everyone who stepped forward and supported colleagues in Critical Care during the first surge in COVID-19 cases earlier in the year. We are now looking to welcome nursing and health care support colleagues from across the organisation in to our newly formed ICU Reservist Team.
With cases of COVID-19 beginning to once again increase, we may need to increase the size of our ICU service significantly at short notice to cope with the additional clinical needs. To cope with this, we need people like you to make sure we do it quickly and safely.
If you have previously worked in Intensive or High Dependency care, have other skills that you think you could offer or just a wish to be part of the Intensive Care response to COVID-19 then please register as an ICU Reservist.
Your contribution could vary from occasional Bank shifts to full redeployment for the duration of the pandemic and the team will work with you and your current managers to facilitate that. You will be offered training and support to help you become an essential part of our team.
Register to join the ICU Reservists Team
4. You go home, Scrubs do not
Further to previous messages in the bulletin regarding the laundering of scrubs, we must once again remind you to not take scrubs home with you. People not laundering scrubs and removing them from site or even throwing the scrubs away reduces the amount of stock available for designated areas. These include theatres, red wards or areas that require scrubs as identified by infection control or senior management.
Support Services undertake the laundering of Trust owned scrubs from Sandwell Hospital in our onsite laundry. All used scrubs must be placed in the blue trollies situated on the links and in departmental areas as indicated below.
- Scrubs should not be stockpiled in lockers
- Do not wear scrubs in undesignated areas.
- Under no circumstances can scrubs be worn outside the hospital or taken home for laundering. The public are aware this should not be done, and the Trust has received a number of complaints on the matter which are being taken seriously. If you turn up to work already in scrubs in the future you may be asked why this is the case.
Maintaining the supply of scrubs to essential areas is dependent on everyone following the same process when it comes to laundering scrubs.
5. Use of the NHS COVID-19 app
As you know the NHS launched their COVID-19 contact tracing app last week. The app is designed to help the NHS understand where and how quickly the virus is spreading, so we can respond quickly and effectively. It is being used alongside traditional contact tracing, to notify users if they come into contact with someone who later tests positive for Coronavirus, while protecting users’ anonymity.
You may have seen posters featuring QR codes for people with the app to ‘sign in’ at selected locations across our sites, but there has been some question as to whether Trust staff using the app should sign in at our locations. The recommendation from the NHS is that health or care workers should pause the app when:
- You are at work following infection prevention and control (IPC) guidance.
- You are wearing correct PPE at work.
- You are working behind a fixed Perspex (or equivalent) screen and are fully protected from other people.
- You store your phone in a locker or communal area.
You can find a general FAQ on the app here.
6. If your child is told to self-isolate
With schools having restarted recently we are aware that some schools have been required to close certain bubbles after learning of positive COVID-19 test results among pupils or staff. Colleagues who have caring responsibilities for children in schools who are told to self-isolate should notify their line manager as soon as possible, however in most cases, where children are not showing any of the common COVID-19 symptoms, colleagues do not also have to isolate. Our staff swabbing service can arrange a test for a member of your household with symptoms (including children) but cannot carry out a test for children who do not have symptoms.
COVID-19 symptoms include:
- a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
- a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
- a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you’ve noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal
If you need to isolate because you have symptoms or someone in your household does, please inform your line manager. If you have childcare issues because of a school bubble closure you must discuss this with your line manager so that you can agree a working arrangement and the support you need through this difficult time. This may involve allowing you to work from home or take carers leave, annual leave, parental leave or accrued TOIL (Time Off In Lieu).