COVID-19 Bulletin: Friday 30 July

July 30, 2021

Twelve days ago government restrictions were lifted. However it’s still important to remember COVID-19 hasn’t left us.

We are still seeing increasing numbers of COVID-19 positive patients admitted to our hospitals, and a rise in cases in the local area. Whilst we all wish to return to pre-COVID times, we must not lower our guard, we must stay cautious.

Our current arrangements for colleagues, patients and visitors at the Trust will continue. We must ensure we are able to continue to protect our patients, public and each other. These arrangements will remain in place in line with national guidelines for the NHS.

This also means our visitor guidance will stay in place across all our health services to ensure patients and staff are protected. 

Set an example, wash your hands, wear your mask, practice social distancing and play your part in keeping yourself and those around you safe.

Numbers not statistics: This week (last week)

1. New: Help share the message around receiving the right care

We are currently experiencing high levels of attendance to our emergency departments, yet around 50 per cent of those seeking help could have been cared for quicker in a different setting.

It’s important that we work together in spreading the word about using alternative healthcare facilities, like GP surgeries, pharmacies and contacting NHS 111 online.

Therefore we have created a number of videos in conjunction with doctors working within ED, delivering this message in different languages so that we reach our diverse communities. It’s important that our patients are aware of the various ways in which they can receive care.

We are asking colleagues to share the videos with their friends and loved ones in the languages that are most relevant so that together we can ensure patients receive the right care in a timely manner.

The links to the videos are below:

• English
• Arabic
• Punjabi
• Urdu

2. New: Do you want to take part in our latest research project? 

A research culture is important to the delivery of care to our patients, especially in our fight against COVID-19. We know that patients who are treated in Trusts who are research active have better outcomes and patients want to be asked about research. To embed a research culture all colleagues should be research aware.

Be a part of a new COVID-19 antibody research study

A new research study called “COPE-WM The contribution of occupational exposures to risk of COVID-19 and approaches to control among healthcare workers” is underway at the Trust. The research aims to identify why workers in healthcare settings are at higher risk of catching the virus and how best to maximise safety for all staff. There is even an opportunity to win an iPad or £200 prize draw by taking part.

Colleagues can find out more information here: www.birmingham.ac.uk/COPE-study.

If you would like to participate go to either https://is.gd/copewmret, contact the COPE-WM team by emailing cope-wm@contacts.bham.ac.uk or call 0121 414 3151.

But be quick, recruitment ends TOMORROW (31 July).

3. New: How to report abusive or offensive behaviour

As you know we are seeing a growing number of patients in our healthcare settings and we recognise the pressures that colleagues are facing across the Trust.

Yet you all continue to demonstrate true commitment and dedication to caring for your patients. However, some of you have encountered offensive behaviour from those you are treating, or their family members. This is particularly so when asking questions about vaccination status.

We want to stress how important it is to raise an incident in the event of this sort of behaviour – you should not need to tolerate this and can call security if there are any issues of safety or concerns about the way you are being treated.

You can report an incident by clicking here. Alternatively you can call security on ext. 4133 (City) or ext. 3163 (Sandwell).

4. New: Trust Bank rates

The Trust has recently reviewed its pay rates for shifts undertaken via the Trust Bank. Our preference remains to try to fill shifts where staff are absent due to ill health or vacancies, via our own Trust Bank rather than via agency. This is because we have greater assurance over the quality of care from our own colleagues who are used to our systems and processes.

During wave 1, from April 2020, we established enhanced bank rates for Trust nursing and HCA shifts which later included enhancements to rates for other roles. These enhanced wave 1 rates will now remain and will be in place for all bank shifts undertaken, regardless of role.  These rates have been benchmarked across other Trusts in the Black Country and are consistently higher than the equivalent rates in neighbouring Trusts. This means that bank shift rates will either remain the same or will increase slightly for some professions.

Additional enhancements are temporarily in place until the end of August for nursing shifts in areas where we need to ensure the right numbers of qualified staff are in place to maintain patient safety.

We are continuing to review all of our Bank rates to ensure consistency and fairness of pay, and will continue to work with colleagues across the Black Country to align our rates over time.

Thank you to everyone who is carrying out additional shifts via the Trust Bank. Please ensure you are allowing yourself sufficient time to rest and take annual leave and look after your wellbeing before booking additional bank shifts.

To find out more about the enhanced rates or to sign up, contact Trust Bank.

5. Updated: Join the saliva testing programme to protect your patients and loved ones

Did you know saliva testing (known as LAMP – Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification) is a speedy and less invasive way of detecting COVID-19?

You can book a kit collection slot for the weekly test, which requires you to spit into a tube in the morning before you brush your teeth or an hour after you have eaten.

When you arrive at work, you can deposit your sample into a red collection box. Many of these are positioned around our acute and community sites.

For a full list of drop off points and for details on how to register, click here.

Uptake of the weekly saliva test is monitored to ensure we are doing everything we can to protect our patients, the public and each other.

The latest data by group is below:

6. Updated: Revisions to our swabbing pathways

We continue to see increasing levels of COVID-19 positive patients within our hospitals, therefore it is absolutely essential that colleagues ensure they are following the correct swabbing pathways.

Please see updated pathways below:

• Unplanned admissions pathway
• Planned admissions pathway for elective or aerosol generating procedures

7. Reminder: Still time to get your vaccination!

The City Hospital vaccination hub in Sheldon Block is still open (under the leadership of SWB) for those aged 18 or older who would like their first or second jab. Colleagues are able to walk-in to the City Hub for their vaccination.

The hub operates from 8am – 6pm daily for walk-ins, whilst it is open until 7.30pm for those who have booked an appointment. Bookings can be made via the national booking website.

The hub will be administering both Pfizer and AstraZeneca. Pfizer will be administered to the under 40s and AstraZeneca to the over 40s as per the current JCVI guidelines.

“Grab A Jab” is also back at the Baggies tomorrow and Sunday. Anyone aged 18 or over can go along to get vaccinated at The Hawthorns.

Alternatively, to find a venue closer to your home, click here.