COVID-19 Bulletin: Friday 6 August
August 6, 2021
Whilst we all aim to use some of the summer period taking a little break and spending some quality time with family and friends, please remember to continue practicing the measures that have kept us safe over the past 18 months, sanitise your hands, be mindful of your personal space and keep an eye on any signs and symptoms of COVID in yourself and those around you.
If you haven’t done so yet, it is not too late to get vaccinated, whether you want to pop along to the Baggies or pop in to a drop in clinic, you have the choice. If you’ve already been double jabbed – thank you.
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 |
| 7,144
(7,033) |
7,151
(7,052) |
1,242
(1,235) |
93
(83) |
1,148
(1,147) |
1. New: We have #ZeroTolerance for colleagues suffering abuse at work
Readers of Heartbeat will have seen that our Chairman, Sir David Nicholson wrote last month about the troubling rise in COVID-19 misinformation, which has brought with it a marked increase in abuse and harassment that colleagues are subjected to whilst trying to do their job. He wrote of his concerns about reports from colleagues who are being abused by patients ill with COVID, who are denying the virus exists. But regardless of the reason for this abuse, as a Trust and a wider NHS we absolutely will not put up with it. And, to be very clear to those who think they can get away with it, we have created posters which state categorically that we will not hesitate to call the police if we feel threatened.
Education is the way by which we address misinformation, and so as a Trust we continue to work both with mainstream media and our own social media channels to share the truth and be a trusted information source for our communities. You can support us by sharing our content from any of the following:
- https://twitter.com/SWBHnhs
- https://www.facebook.com/SWBHNHS/
- https://www.instagram.com/SWBHnhs/
- https://www.youtube.com/swbhnhs1
- https://www.linkedin.com/company/swbhnhs
2. New: ‘Grab a Jab’ comes back to the Baggies this weekend
‘Grab a jab’ is back at the Baggies this Friday (6 August), and Saturday (7 August) between 10am and 6pm.
West Bromwich Albion fans are being urged to ‘grab a jab’ at The Hawthorns, as the club continues to support the vaccination drive, after five successful clinic sessions already being held this summer. And it’s not just Albion fans who are welcome – ‘away fans’ and people not into football can go along to get vaccinated at The Hawthorns, or at several other locations around Sandwell if they are aged 18 or over.
Sandwell Council – in partnership with NHS colleagues and local community and faith organisations – is continuing with its programme of pop-up clinics giving residents the opportunity to get vaccinated.
Tuesday 10 August: 7pm-9pm at Church of God Of Prophecy, Unit N, Park Lane, West Bromwich, B21 8LE (Pfizer only)
Thursday 12 August: 11am-5pm at YMCA (West Brom Bid) – 38 Carters Green, West Bromwich, West Bromwich, B70 9LG (Pfizer only)
Details of clinics are available online at the Healthy Sandwell clinics webpage.
More clinics around the region are also available online via the NHS booking website.
Remember:
- No appointment is necessary.
- No NHS number is needed.
- No need to be registered with a GP.
- No residential address is needed.
- Offering both first and second dose vaccines – remember to be bring your vaccine card if you’ve had your first vaccination.
- With COVID-19 cases high both in Sandwell and across the West Midlands region, being fully vaccinated is the best way of protecting yourself and others from becoming seriously ill.
- Anyone aged 40 or over who needs their second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, can also go to Tipton Sports Academy, Wednesbury Oak Road, Tipton, Monday to Sunday from 8am-6pm. (First and second dose Pfizer and AstraZeneca available).
Please make sure it’s at least eight weeks since your first dose.
3. New: Still on the fence about getting your jab?
Community Services Lead for Sandwell, Ruth Williams is warning people about the dangers of Long COVID – which manifests after the original COVID-19 virus has infected the body. It is not known who will suffer Long COVID or how long it lasts, as Ruth explains some sufferers who attend our community Long COVID clinic have improved then suddenly relapsed with full blown symptoms. With no cure on the horizon, Long COVID is a risk for those who stay unvaccinated, with potentially life changing consequences.
If you are still unsure about getting vaccinated please talk to a trusted medical colleague or get the facts from reputable sources such as the Red Cross or the NHS.
4. New: Swabbing patients – Understanding how long it takes for samples to be processed
Swabbing patients for COVID-19 and ensuring that screening and streaming processes are undertaken based on clinical presentation and test results is critical in ensuring that we are able to safely manage our patients.
Colleagues are encouraged to take some time to understand the proper processes and turnaround times for COVID-19 swab testing.
Urgent Test Turnaround Time – Once a patient’s COVID swab has arrived in the lab at City Hospital the actual processing time of the sample in the lab is 2 hours. This means that if the swab is taken in the morning (9 am – 12 pm) the overall turnaround time for urgent COVID swabs is around 4-6 hours. This has been the case since the first wave.
If the sample is received in a purple bag, between 9-3 pm then you will likely receive a result on the same day. If the allocation of urgent tests (allocated nationally) has been exceeded the swab will be forwarded to Wolverhampton for routine processing which has a turnaround time of up to 48 hours.
Chasing Results
Please DO NOT telephone the laboratory for results as this is disruptive and wastes your time and laboratory staff time. Results are available on Unity as soon as the laboratory releases them.
The order status is visible on Unity under ‘Requests/Care Plans’. Samples that have been received in the lab and being processed are shown as ‘InProcess (In-Lab)’.
For patients booked for swabbing via the community contact centre (pods), this should be the first point of contact to confirm the patient attended and was swabbed. It is extremely inefficient for the laboratory to try and search for a missing swab if it has not actually been taken in the first place.
The telephone numbers for the contact centre are:
Mon-Fri – 0121 507 2664 option 6
Sat-Sun – 07816992873
Packaging Swab Samples – Please ensure swab samples are triple bagged and packaged in the correct manner and as instructed (two clear specimen bags followed by either routine blue bag or urgent purple bag).
Please DO NOT put the request form in the same specimen bag as the actual sample as this causes delays to the processing of the sample.
5. New: Getting help with COVID debt from Welfare Rights
More than 11,100 people have received benefits and debt advice from Sandwell Council during the financial year 2020/21 – and anyone else in need of support is being urged to get in touch.
With many being hit hard financially as a result of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the council’s Welfare Rights team helped people boost their household incomes to the tune of a staggering £22.085 million in unclaimed benefit entitlements.
This includes around £2.304 million for council tenants, as a result of the council’s rents teams referring more than 1,500 tenants to the Welfare Rights service.
The team is available to help anyone in need of advice about claiming benefits or is struggling with rent arrears. There is also a debt advice line for anyone concerned about debt due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Welfare Rights team can be contacted online at www.sandwell.gov.uk/welfarerights via an online form, by email to welfarerights_team@sandwell.gov.uk or by calling 0121 569 3158 Monday to Thursday from 9.30am – 4pm, and on Friday from 9.30am-3.30pm.
The team also runs a Covid-19 debt helpline for anyone concerned about a debt, which is available by calling 0121 569 5333 and operates the same hours.
6. Updated: Join the weekly saliva testing programme to protect your patients and loved ones
Did you know we currently offer a weekly testing programme for all colleagues that allows you to get reliable results on COVID testing through a completely pain free and non-invasive test?
You can register for LAMP testing and book in to 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. And within 24-48 hours you will get a text message confidentially sent to you alerting you to your results.
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:
7. Reminder: Last opportunity to take part in an important COVID-19 study
Our Trust is taking part in this important study that aims to examine the relative contribution of occupational, sociodemographic and clinical risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection among healthcare workers (HCW) in NHS Trusts in the West Midlands, and how to minimise these risks. The outcomes would also be highly relevant should we experience a different pandemic in the future. The study also considers how things have changed overtime as the COVID-19 pandemic has progressed.
Time is running out as study recruitment closes 16th August 2021 and we are keen for as many of our staff / students / volunteers as possible to complete the baseline survey by that date.
If you have not already taken part, please access the link below to see if you are eligible for study participation.
Although the research team are not currently able to provide any specific results, they have advised us that preliminary analysis on the exposure data has shown signals suggesting higher risk of infection based on certain exposures. Every member of the trust that takes part will help to strengthen the study outcomes.
Please consider supporting this study.