COVID-19 Bulletin: Thursday 25 March

March 25, 2021

Numbers not statistics: This week (last week)

NB: Figures listed now represent the combined total during the pandemic.

1. New: UHB and ROH spinal services referrals update

Following a full divert of spinal emergencies from University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) to the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (ROH) in January 2021 as part of mutual aid to help support the wider system, the NORSE referrals divert was removed as of 22 March 2021.  Clinicians should revert to the usual referring pathways that were in place prior to the divert when referring patients to spinal services. For further information please contact Lisa Savage at ROH on lsavage@nhs.net.

2. New: Convalescent Plasma Programme has finished

NHSBT has advised the Trust that the Convalescent Plasma Programme (CVP) has finished due to the trial results, declining patient numbers and the success of the vaccine roll out. There will not be any further research, as results from the trials have undergone robust analysis and did not show any benefit to patients. As a result, the collection of CVP has stopped.  Please ensure all remaining leaflets supplied by NHSBT are removed from patient discharge packs. Thank you to all colleagues who supported this research.

3. New: COVID-19 staff bulletin moving to once a week

From next week the frequency of COVID-19 strategic meetings will move to once a week, held on Thursdays. Following this we will also reduce the number of COVID-19 bulletins – issuing weekly on a Friday. Everything you need to know about our current response to COVID will be included in the bulletin, so please ensure you look out for it. All up to date information and reference will be published on Connect on our COVID pages.

4. New: Testing programme for South Africa variant strain in parts of Sandwell: New home testing and mobile collections

Drop and collect tests are being offered door to door in specific streets within the wider DY4 7, DY4 8 and B69 2 postcode areas. The area is 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.

The home test kits are aimed at those who can’t get to the new mobile testing unit (MTU) in the car park of Pure Gym, Dudley Port, which is open 9am-3pm seven days a week.

People without symptoms who can get to the MTU are urged to go as soon as possible – you can walk-in without booking, but if you have to drive there you must book an appointment.  A booking system for drive-in appointments is available on the council’s website.

Colleagues can go to the council’s testing webpage here to check if you’re in the area where you need to get a test and details of how to book.

Starting today Sandwell Council’s mobile library will also be visiting locations in the target areas People living there are urged to return completed tests to these mobile collection points if they are not in when council volunteers call to pick them up. The home testing kits are only for people without symptoms – so the mobile collection point does not bring an infection risk to the area. Council drop and collect teams are knocking on doors and giving out home test kits which will then be sent for special sequencing testing to identify any cases of the variant. If nobody is at home they will post a missed collection leaflet so that residents know about the alternative service.

See location schedule:

5. New: All Chaplaincy congregational services reopen

The Trust Chaplaincy service is happy to advise colleagues that services have resumed for all staff and patients. Please ensure you follow social distancing, PPE and hand hygiene rules when entering all areas designated for prayer. The following timetable now applies:

Friday Prayers:

City: Old Millers Restaurant (Next to Post Grad)

• 1.15pm  Khutbah
• 1.30pm  Jamaat

Sandwell Chapel 2^nd Floor:

• 1.15pm  Khutbah
• 1.30pm  Jamaat

      Sunday Communion Services: Starting with Easter Day Services  4 April

• City Hospital (1st Floor) 11am
• Sandwell (2nd Floor) 2pm
• City Catholic Mass 12pm: 1st Wednesday of every month
• Sandwell Catholic Mass 11am: 1st Friday of every month.

6. Update: Working from home: Trust guidance extended to 21 June 2021

Colleagues should note that our current ‘working from home’ guidance will remain in place until 21 June this year, and as such we are NOT expecting a mass return of home workers back to Trust sites after 31 March.

We plan to issue a longer-term strategy regarding home working arrangements in the coming months to carry the Trust through the period to 2023 and to put arrangements on a firmer and more contractual footing. This ensures fairness for existing and new employees and clarity about eligibility and decision making. We expect this longer-term guidance to increase the number of staff working from home than we saw pre COVID-19. This is due to being mindful of social distancing and the open plan nature of office accommodation in particular in the Trust’s estate from 2022.

We recognise that some staff may prefer to bring home working arrangements now to a conclusion – please talk to your manager to ensure this can be done safely. However, for clarity such decisions will have no bearing on roles designated longer term as home based, nor will occupying a desk alter desk allocation after we have completed our COVID SAFE assessments. It is expected that multi-occupant offices will have fewer work spaces within them and that some teams and departments will relocate with priority given to patient facing roles and remits in on site bases.

If you are currently working from home you must contact your line manager prior to 31 March and confirm your arrangements through to 21 June. This conversation would typically include re-confirming hours of work to avoid situations where there is a perception that it is difficult to say no/switch off when working electronically and from home. Work/life balance is important to us.

Staff who have been shielding and unable to work from home must complete a new risk assessment and be cleared to return to site before they come back. All future updates to our home working guidance will be shared in the COVID staff bulletin.

7. Update: Swabbing pathway: Important changes to be aware of

We have updated our swabbing pathway with the following amends. The flowchart is published on Connect here.

• Previously COVID-19 positive patients do not need re-screening for 90 days from first positive result unless they have new COVID symptoms. If a previously positive patient is re-admitted within 14 days please use the last swab result on the system.
• Should an asymptomatic previously positive patient inadvertently be re-tested within 90 days as positive then this result can be disregarded.
• Contact tracing bay patients who have been contacts will need swabbing every 3 days for 14 days (IPC will place flag on Unity).
• In the event of an outbreak, contacts of a positive patient will need to be isolated or cohorted on the current Amber ward or in the contact bay for 14 days (irrespective of the negative result).
• For stepping down to amber ward after 14 days, there should be complete resolution of COVID symptoms along with senior consultant review. A negative swab is not required. For Immunocompromised patients after 14 days with complete resolution of symptoms, 2 negative swab results 24 hrs apart or 1 negative lower respiratory sample e.g. sputum, is acceptable for stepdown to the Amber ward. If a patient develops new COVID-19 symptoms after a 90 day period, they should be isolated and tested again as this could be a new infection.
• Nursing home discharges: An exception to this process is for individuals who have previously tested positive for COVID-19 and are within 90 days of their initial illness onset or positive test date. If these individuals have already completed their 14-day isolation period from the onset of symptoms or positive test result (if asymptomatic) and have no new COVID-19 symptoms or exposure, they are not considered to pose an infection risk. They therefore do not have to be re-tested and can move directly to any care home from the hospital.

8. Reminder: Second vaccine dose appointments at City Hospital – you must complete a form to book

Colleagues who do not have an appointment for their second dose of the vaccine due to having your first dose at City Hospital’s hub in Sheldon Block, are asked to complete the following form to ensure you secure an appointment for your second jab:  https://forms.office.com/r/i9HgiAvGgN.

For those who have appointments and have had 2^nd vaccine doses elsewhere please cancel your appointment, stating that you have had your vaccine and where you had it so that we can update our records and offer the slots to other people.

9. Reminder: BME Staff Network hosted event 29 March: COVID vaccine your questions answered

The BME Staff Network are hosting a Q&A event aimed at answering the questions and concerns you may have about receiving the COVID vaccine. They will be joined by a panel of senior leaders within the organisation including:

• Dr Masood Aga, Consultant and Specialty Lead in Occupational Medicine
• Puneet Sharma, Chief Pharmacist
• Dr David Carruthers, Medical Director

There will also be an opportunity hear from Steven Shanu, Lead Pharmacist, who will talk about his own experiences of being part of the clinical trials for the Astra Zeneca vaccine.

The event will be held on Monday 29 March, between 1pm and 2pm. Please join in and send your questions prior to the event to BME Staff Network Vice Chair, Malik Umar malik.umar@nhs.net.

Everyone is welcome.

To join the event, please see instructions below:

• Event address for attendees: https://swbhnhs.webex.com/swbhnhs/onstage/g.php?MTID=e3f2b7da74135d1dce47bfeb544ba69d2
• Event password: swb21
• Access code: 183 944 0837
• Audio conference: +44-20-3478-5289

Additional Q&As are available on Connect on a number of subjects. Please click below for more details:

• Q&A – Women’s Health
• Q&A  – The Vaccine and Blood Clots
• Q&A – The Second Dose