COVID-19 Bulletin: Friday 18 December

December 18, 2020

Urgent appeal – Have you taken Sundstrom filters from City Hospital by mistake?

Does your filter look like this?

If so, DO NOT use it in your Sundstrom mask.

Infection control colleagues have discovered that some Sundstrom filters have been taken from the City Hospital fit testing hub. These filters are not P3 filters but are vapour/gas filters for the Sundstrom masks and will offer no protection when dealing with COVID-19 positive patients especially AGPs.

If you have the Sundstrom filters pictured above you must not use them as you are putting yourself at risk.

If your filter looks like the one above please contact infection control who will be able to provide you with the correct filter. You can contact the team on 07970023316.

Please share this message with your colleagues.

1. New message: COVID-19 vaccine extended to colleagues working in high risk areas

Colleagues working in areas with high risk exposure are now being given an opportunity to have the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust.

Staff working in ICU, neonatal ICU and respiratory/NIV hub have now been contacted to book for a vaccine. It is anticipated that from next week colleagues working in our emergency departments will also be offered available appointment slots. Those who are eligible can book through the SWB booking team on ext. 4112 where the team will talk you through a series of questions to confirm your eligibility. The booking team are also able to help you access your NHS Number (if you do not know it).

If you believe you are very high or high risk and have not received an invitation to get the vaccine, please contact the team on ext. 4112.

If you have not completed your COVID risk assessment you can still do so via this link http://sw-web04/CovidRiskAssessment/CovidRA.aspx

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

2. New message: Patient information labels must be placed inside the COVID-19 sample bags

The pathology team are receiving COVID-19 sample bags with the labels detailing patient information on the outside of the transport bag.

Colleagues are reminded that any labels detailing patient information should be placed inside the sample bags (whether they are blue or purple bags) as they are required for the laboratory colleagues to process the samples correctly.

3. Updated message: 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

4. Updated message: Visiting arrangements for inpatients

As you know, our Trust has restricted all visiting unless in exceptional circumstances, or for patients who are at end of life, those who lack mental capacity or children. The Women’s and Child Health Group now have new arrangements in place to allow limited visiting on postnatal wards, a partner to accompany scanning appointments and an additional birthing partner.

Due to the tier 3 restrictions for Birmingham and the Black Country that are a result of high community infections, rate of rise and impact on the NHS, we are retaining a ban on general visiting. Should our local area move to a tier 2 or tier 1 alert level then different visiting arrangements will apply. These arrangements are set out here.

We expect to relax the restrictions on 24 and 25 December to allow visiting, which would be in line with the tier 2 arrangements. We may change this decision depending on the numbers of COVID patients in the hospital, community cases and any hospital outbreaks, however we very much hope that we can allow limited visiting during this period to support our patients and their families. In these circumstances, the appropriate PPE must be worn by the visitor that will be supplied by the Trust. Each ward should only allow a maximum of 30% of the patients to have visitors at any one time, and each bay the same (a maximum of 30% visitors at any one time.) Patients who are nursed in beds in bays must not have visitors whilst their immediate patient neighbour has visitors.

Plans are being worked with the groups and further information will be shared next week.

5. Updated message: Plan ahead as there is limited availability for fit testing over the holiday period

Fit testing is available as normal until 23 December, at Sandwell (Meeting room Hallam Restaurant) and at City (upstairs old Physio OPD).

Fit testing during the holiday period is as follows: