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COVID-19 Bulletin: Tuesday 2 February

February 2, 2021

1. New: Guidance on dealing with patients with possible SARS-COV-2 Variant of Concern (VOC) including South African variant

You will have seen in the news that the new South African (SA) variant (B1.351) has now been detected within the WS2 post code in Walsall.

Colleagues must be aware that this variant could potentially be in other areas as well.

People at risk include:

  • Those who have been in or transited through any of the countries listed within the travel ban to the UK and who develop symptoms of COVID-19 within 10 days of departure or transit (or date of sampling for a positive SARS-CoV-2 test if asymptomatic)
  • Contacts of individuals described above.

If you suspect a patient could potentially have this variant, they should be streamed to a Red ward as soon as possible  and  should be managed in isolation in a single room with en-suite bathroom facilities, and with appropriate infection control procedures, for the duration of their isolation period.

 

You are also advised to notify the inflection and control team on ext. 5900 as soon as possible as well as notify the public health teams at Sandwell PHCOVID19_Enquiries@sandwell.gov.uk or Birmingham BCCCOVID19@birmingham.gov.uk.

 

Colleagues should continue to follow current IPC advice and use the recommended personal protective protection (PPE) for individuals on the high risk (Red) pathway. Our current PCR assays are expected to be able to detect Variant of Concern (VOC) and should continue to be used for testing patients with suspected COVID-19 infection.

To see a list of countries included in the travel ban due to variant strains please visit the government website.

 

2. New: Advice for colleagues living in the WS2 post code

Those who live within the Walsall area will no doubt have concerns, which we share and are aware of. For now all colleagues who live within the identified affected areas please continue to attend work as usual, unless you begin to display any of the known symptoms associated with Coronavirus or have had contact with a confirmed positive case of COVID-19.

Should you begin to display any symptoms or have contact with a confirmed case please speak to the swabbing team on 0121 507 2664 (option 5) and arrange an urgent swab test. We must reiterate you should isolate pending the results of this swab test. Please have a lower threshold for arranging a test in case of any symptoms suggestive of COVID-19.

It is vital for all colleagues, particularly within these affected areas, to stringently complete the at home self-testing with lateral flow kits. Please ensure a lateral flow test is completed on those days you are due to attend work. Should your lateral flow test provide a positive result then as per the instruction above please arrange for a PCR swab test to be completed and isolate until the results are available.

For those that live in the WS2 area we are aware that some schools have written to parents to say that their school is now closed to all pupils including those of key workers. If you are impacted by any school/nursery closures as a result of the South African variant, you should urgently contact your manager to discuss your options.

Any changes to this process will be communicated in future bulletins.

3. Updated: Extra slots available for jabs next week

Just in case you haven’t heard – slots for the COVID vaccination are available week commencing 8 February.

Colleagues can book in for their first dose of the COVID vaccination at the Education Centre, Sandwell Hospital between Monday to Thursday, 8am to 8pm.  To book call 0121 507 4112.

The hub will stop offering first doses after 11 February in order to support the allocation of vaccine supplies across the system so that priority groups are able to be vaccinated as quickly as possible. The facility will reopen in March to administer second doses. Staff who need to be vaccinated after 11 February, will be able to access an alternative vaccine centre. We will be issuing more information about how you can do this once the details are confirmed.

We are administering the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine at the hospital hub, based in the Education Centre.  If you have a proven anaphylactoid reaction to one of the ingredients of this, then you must contact your GP to request the Oxford/AstraZeneca as an alternative or you can discuss this further with occupational health.

4. Updated: Annual leave carry over

 

Further to previous guidance about annual leave for the year 2020/21 we have updated our guidance which means that:

  • Any colleague who has been unable to take their annual leave entitlement due to the impact of COVID-19 on our services, has the opportunity to carry over up to 10 days. This must be agreed by the line manager and documented (updated on ESR, rostering system or other leave booking system. The line manager will need to agree that it has been impossible for the individual to take their leave during the 2020/21 leave year.
  • Colleagues who have more than 10 days annual leave entitlement remaining may be able to carry over up to 20 days. This will need to be agreed by the line manager, approved by the Group triumvirate, or departmental lead, for corporate areas and signed off by the relevant Executive Director. The expectation is that the leave that is carried over will be taken during 2021/22 at a time agreed with the line manager and service manager. There may be opportunity for colleagues to be paid for some of this leave entitlement should colleagues prefer. Any carried over leave must be documented on ESR/eRoster or other leave booking system.

The line manager must agree that carried over leave is due to the impact of COVID-19 on the services that the Trust provides and the need for staff to be at work and not on leave. It is not to be carried over because people have had holiday arrangements disrupted due to for instance, travel restrictions. All annual leave carry over discussions must be completed by 28 February and added to ESR, eRoster or the relevant annual leave booking system.

Please note: Usual arrangements apply for those with accrued annual leave relating to sickness absence, maternity, paternity or other leave.

5. Reminder: Waste disposal during COVID-19 – waste streams (clinical, offensive and domestic)  

The Trust is currently experiencing high volumes of waste that has not been segregated correctly and cardboard which has not been broken down. This is having a major impact on collections and disposal of clinical and offensive waste in particular; not only within the Trust but also for our waste contractor.

Within the orange bags there is evidence of plastic bottles, packaging and general domestic items going into the incorrect waste stream. Cardboard is being left on the floor of cupboards and not broken down, and is not only causing a health and safety issues but preventing staff accessing the bins to dispose of waste correctly.

Domestic waste including packaging and office waste should not be placed into Orange/tiger bags.

All cardboard boxes should be flattened and either placed into the domestic waste bins or in a cage to await collection.

Waste disposal should always follow the rules of segregation:

 

  • Healthcare infectious clinical (Orange bag)  this includes COVID waste
  • Offensive (Tiger bag waste) healthcare non-infectious including PPE when not on a Red ward
  • Domestic (Black bag waste and cardboard).

 

Failure to follow segregation will result in waste not being collected and disposed of correctly.

 

PPE in offices should go into black bag domestic waste.

 

Sharps bins should remain in the wards and departments until collected. Under no circumstances should these be placed into the waste cupboards or left outside of wards.

 

For further details regarding waste segregation, please see waste descriptions information sheet. For more information please contact dawn.hall@nhs.net.

 

Disposal of Masks:

 

We must remind both clinical and non-clinical colleagues when leaving work it is essential that masks are disposed of safely when finished. In non-clinical areas they can be disposed of in a black bag waste bin. PPE disposal process in clinical areas remains unchanged. Remember to maintain frequent handwashing/sanitising at all times. Please do not attempt to flush your used mask down the toilet as this will cause a blockage in the drainage system.