COVID-19 Bulletin: Thursday 18 March

1. New: Change to PPE guidance – Amber stream

Due to the reduction of community rates of COVID-19 and continued reduction of COVID positive inpatients being admitted, we are revising our PPE guidance in-line with national PHE guidelines, so that colleagues working on Amber wards are no longer required to wear FFP3 masks when providing direct care for patients.

This means from Monday 22 March when working on an Amber ward the PPE required when in direct contact with a patient will be a fluid resistant mask, eye protection (sessional use), disposable apron and disposable gloves. Posters on entrances will be updated in the next week to reflect this change.

For Red wards or for Aerosol Generating Procedures in Red and Amber areas, continue to wear enhanced PPE (FFP3 mask/silicon mask/respiratory hood).

In addition to the required PPE in your area, you are encouraged to follow your individual risk assessment for PPE. If you have not yet completed your COVID risk assessments you can do so on Connect. This may mean that, due to these individual risk assessments, different levels of PPE are being worn on the same ward.

You can read the full updated PPE guidance on Connect.

2. New: South African variant identified in local area

In last week’s Thursday bulletin we discussed COVID-19 rates in the community and how Tipton in particular was bucking the trend – and not in a positive way, with significantly high levels of infection remaining. Now, as you may have read in the press, extensive surveillance of COVID-19 has identified on the border of Oldbury and Tipton of the variant first discovered in South Africa.

It is recommended that people aged 16 and over living within specific streets in the Oldbury/Tipton border area take a PCR COVID-19 swab test, even if they are not showing any symptoms.

These include specific streets within the wider DY4 7, DY4 8 and B69 2 postcode areas, in an area loosely between Birmingham Canal in the north, New Birmingham Road in the south, Coneygree Road in the west and Vaughan Trading Estate in the east.

Colleagues who live in this area should please get tested. You are able to come to work as normal providing you have no symptoms. Usual guidelines apply on isolating if test result is positive, or that of a household member.

If you have questions about the targeted testing in the Oldbury/Tipton border area, please call the Healthy Sandwell team on 0800 011 4656 for advice.

3. Updated: Extra community drop off points for LAMP testing samples added

The roll out continues for all colleagues to switch to LAMP (Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification) testing and as a result the number of collection boxes across our sites and in the community are increasing.

Drop off points are now available at the following community venues:

•               Neptune Health Park, first floor, Sedgley Road West, Tipton.

•               The Lyng Centre for Health and Social Care, second floor clinical suite, Frank Fisher Way, West Bromwich.

•               Oldbury Health Centre, ground floor, Albert Street, Oldbury.

•               Victoria Health Centre, ground floor, Suffrage Street, Smethwick.

•               Rowley Regis Hospital, Outpatients.

Additional drop off bins  have been added to Sandwell site at:

•               Pathology

•               A & E

•               Bryan Knight Suite

•               Phlebotomy, first floor Outpatients Sandwell Corridor D

Additional drop off points at City Hospital are planned and will be available shortly. We’ll keep you updated via the COVID-19 bulletin as to where these will be. The current drop off point at City is Phlebotomy, found on the ground floor of the BTC.

4. Reminder: Sandwell vaccination hub re-opening on 23 March

Time flies, and we’re now at the point where the Sandwell vaccination hub is gearing up once again (for six weeks only) to see colleagues and administer jabs – in this case our second doses of the Pfizer vaccine, bringing not just additional protection but no doubt a great peace of mind to a great many of us.

Colleagues will already have an appointment for when to attend. You are encouraged to keep your original appointment or rearrange via the vaccination call centre (on 0121 507 4112), but you are advised not to go beyond 12 weeks after your first jab. It is essential that you attend as there will be no further appointments beyond 26 April for you to receive your Pfizer second dose. The Sandwell vaccination hub will also be open on Bank Holidays so please attend if you are booked on those days.

 It’s not too late to have your first jab

If you are yet to get the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination, you can still book in to get your jab at either Walsall Hospital or at the newly opened at Tipton Sports Academy vaccination centre. Alternatively colleagues can also book their jab through the Your Health Partnership Primary Care Network at Whiteheath Medical Centre in Oldbury.

To book your jab online use one of the following links:

·         Walsall Hospital

·         Whiteheath Medical Centre, Oldbury

·         NHS COVID-19 Vaccination booking – you can also use this link to book at the Tipton Sports Academy vaccination centre.

Walk-in appointment slots are also available from the Primary Care Network vaccine hub at City Hospital, Sheldon Block until the end of March.

5. Reminder: 22 March is last date to request sell back of annual leave

March is already half way done and we’re rapidly approaching the end of this financial year. Staff have been actively encouraged to plan and take their annual leave, during the leave year, as part of maintaining their health, safety and well-being, particularly during this difficult time.

Getting adequate rest and recuperation is vitally important for the physical and mental well-being of all our staff. There is an expectation, therefore, that staff will have been able to take at least their statutory minimum leave entitlement (28 days for full-time employees which is 20 days plus 8 bank holidays).

However, given the current situation, we are aware that some permanent staff may have some outstanding annual leave, i.e. above their statutory minimum entitlement, which they have been unable to take due to severe service and capacity pressures during the year 2020/21.

Therefore, in these situations, and as an exception to the Trust’s existing policy, staff have two options:

·         Staff will be allowed to carry over leave to the next leave year (1 April 2021 – 1 April 2022). The maximum leave that can be carried over will be the number of days above and beyond the employees statutory minimum, this being 5.6 working weeks per year inclusive of statutory holidays (equivalent to 28 days), plus any leave carried forward from 2019/20.

·         Staff will be able to sell back to the Trust their annual leave on the same basis, i.e. the number of days above and beyond the employee’s statutory minimum. For example if you receive 27 days leave plus 8 bank holidays, you could opt to sell up to 7 days leave, plus any leave carried forward from 2019/20.

As above statutory leave provisions still apply, so you will still need to take at least 28 days of annual leave during 2020/21. This is important for supporting the health and well-being of staff at this challenging time. Let’s work together to make sure that all of our staff take the rest that they need. This arrangement also applies to colleagues whose leave year is different to the Trust’s financial year. Full details are in the guidance.

For further information or to apply for this scheme please click here. The request form is included at the end of the guidance.

The scheme closes on 22 March 2021. Send your completed forms to swbh.albuyback@nhs.net if you would like to make this request.

6. Reminder: Use the bins provided to get rid of your trash

The Trust continues to make efforts to combat the proliferation of rubbish around it’s grounds, in particular used masks and other PPE discarded by the public after visiting our sites.

As always, you are reminded to dispose of your rubbish appropriately. You are urged to make use of the increased number of bins now available around our sites.

In order to help with this, you may have also seen the litter picking team (pictured here at Sandwell earlier this week) helping to clear the grounds of any general trash old and new. Let’s support the team by doing our bit and throwing our trash in the bins provided.