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COVID-19 Bulletin: Thursday 28 January

January 28, 2021

New:

Updated:

Numbers not statistics: This week (last week)

No. of our patients confirmed with COVID-19 No. of positive COVID-19 patients who have been discharged No. of COVID-19 positive patients who have died in our hospitals No.of COVID-19 positive current inpatients No. of COVID-19 research trial participants to date No.of staff logging lateral test results
Pre-Sept:

1,393

From 1 Sept:
3,719
(3,307)

 Pre-Sept:
1,218From 1 Sept:
3,318
(2,912)		 Pre-Sept:
392From 1 Sept:
534
(456)		 384
(407)		 1040
(1,012)		 2,346
(2,294)

 

  1. New: Attention! Soldiers parachuted in to support colleagues

We have welcomed 18 British Army soldiers who are joining us across City and Sandwell Hospitals.

As we see cases of COVID-19 continue to be consistently high, we are pleased to welcome the military personnel who will be supporting colleagues. The soldiers will be on hand to carry out non-clinical tasks such as stacking medicine trolleys, cleaning and doing laundry.

This support will make a very real and positive difference to the work we are doing to help turn the tide against COVID-19.

In practical terms it means that it will free up time for our clinical colleagues to continue delivering patient-facing care.

Brigadier AJ Smith, Commander Joint Military Command, West Midlands, said: “We remain in support of NHS Midlands as we have been for the last 10 months.  A force package of 370 military personnel is currently embedded in 23 hospitals across the Midlands providing medical and broader support to the amazing NHS Team as they continue to face this unprecedented challenge.

“The troops are drawn from 1, 4 and 5 Medical Regiments, 1st and 21st Signal Regiments and 1st Yorkshire Regiment.”

We’d like to thank them for volunteering their time at our Trust over the coming weeks.

  1. New: Time stamping of COVID samples

Time stampers have been installed at the entrances to pathology at City and Sandwell Hospitals. These should now be used to date and time stamp a sticky label, which is to be attached to the outside of the outer specimen bag.

This will be used to monitor the turnaround times delivered by the laboratory.
More information is included in the updated sample collection and drop-off guidance on Connect.

Please click here to view this.

  1. Updated: COVID jab slots available in February

Thank you to all colleagues have worked hard to deliver the vaccination programme over the past month. We’re sure you will agree, it has been a great team effort and a vital part of our fight against COVID-19.

For those of you who haven’t yet received your jab, you can call the booking line to have your first dose week commencing 8 February.

In order to best manage vaccine supplies across the region it is likely that we will stop offering first doses to staff from the Sandwell Hospital Hub after 11 February. The facility will be re-opening in March to administer second doses. Please ensure that you call 0121 507 4112 to book your slot. Staff who need to be vaccinated after 11 February will be able to access an alternative vaccine centre and you will be advised how this can be arranged once the details are confirmed.

Please remember the following:

  • We are currently only offering the first dose
  • At your first vaccination appointment, a slot will be booked for your second dose to be administered 12 weeks later. Please note there is no flexibility on this.  This is following
    national guidelines and is mirrored in all other Trusts, GPs practices and vaccination centres.

The first dose offers good levels of protection and we can reduce transmission significantly in the community by giving more people the first dose and the second dose 12 weeks later.