COVID-19 Bulletin: Thursday 24 February

February 24, 2022

Numbers not statistics: This week (last week)

Note: Percentages may decrease due to changes in the number of inpatients and in the number of staff members (starters and leavers). 

1. New: Guidance on ending COVID-19 restrictions

The Trust is undertaking a number of steps that affect both visiting and staff activities as we continue to ease COVID-19 restrictions. On Monday the Government announced a planned end to all COVID-19 restrictions across England. However, the NHS guidance, that was received yesterday has clarified that our own local arrangements will remain in place:

• NHS staff who test positive: All colleagues who have tested positive for COVID-19 should not attend work until they have had two negative Lateral Flow Device (LFD) test results taken 24 hours apart. The first test should not be taken before day 5 after their initial positive test. For more information see our staff isolation guidance.
• NHS staff with no symptoms must still test weekly / twice weekly. Please see the information in item 4 about moving from LAMP to twice weekly LFD testing.
• Our IPC guidance also remains in place with our recent change from FFP3 to FRSMs in all amber areas. Mask wearing must continue in all areas including shared office spaces.
• General visiting is being reintroduced from 2 March. See item 5 for our arrangements for safe visiting.

2. New: Make sure your voice is heard – consultation to extend temporary COVID-19 pension rules

The Government has begun its consultation on proposals to extend the temporary pension rules currently provided by Section 45 of the Coronavirus Act 2020.

The Coronavirus Act included the following temporary pension changes:

• Special Class status (SCS) normal pension age (NPA) 55. Staff can retire and return and work additional hours without abatement. Applies to nurses, midwives, health visitors and staff with Mental Health Officer status (MHO).
• 16-hour rule staff can work more than 16 hours a week in the first calendar month without their pension being suspended. Applies to all staff.
• Pension draw down – take pension and continue working without abatement i.e. ability to increase hours without detriment. Applies to staff in the 2008 Section and 2015 Scheme.

The consultation asks for feedback regarding:

• Continuing the temporary pension rules from 24 March 2022 to 31 October 2022.
• Extending the rules beyond 31 October 2022

The government are currently seeking your views on any impact you believe the withdrawal of the rules could have on you.

The consolation should take no longer than five minutes to complete and can be completed by clicking here.

Note: The deadline to complete this consultation is Tuesday 1 March, 11pm

3. New: Vaccination as a Condition of Deployment legislation

Consultation has now concluded to inform the review of the Vaccination as a Condition of Deployment legislation.

Currently the legislation remains in place until the outcome of the review is known and we are continuing to confirm the vaccination status of all our staff. You may be contacted by telephone to confirm your vaccination status as well as NHS Number (where we do not have a record of this) and for a copy of your COVID pass if you have been vaccinated.

Alternatively you can confirm your status to the HR email advice line swbh.hr-advice-for-covid-19@nhs.net if we have written to you or contacted you to say we have no record of you having first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, attaching a copy of your COVID pass wherever possible.

We are expecting an update on the review to come in due course and we expect to take a consistent approach with other Trusts in the country, and particularly within the Black Country and West Birmingham Integrated Care System.

4. Reminder: Moving from LAMP to lateral flow – Keeping safe with simple testing

Although restrictions may have eased, working in the healthcare sector means it is possible we will  come in to contact with those suffering with COVID-19 and vulnerable patients – so it’s critically important that we stay on top of testing.

From the 14 March we will move from our current LAMP testing programme which requires colleagues to submit a saliva sample on a weekly basis to colleagues being asked to complete lateral flow tests at home twice a week before they come in to work. You will be required to report your lateral flow results and we will advise you of the reporting arrangements in due course.

Lateral flow testing kits can be ordered online from the following website with colleagues either having them delivered directly to their home address or alternatively collecting from community locations.

Order your lateral flow kit online here: https://www.gov.uk/order-coronavirus-rapid-lateral-flow-tests.

5. Reminder: Easing of visiting restrictions from 2 March

From 2 March we are easing our visiting restrictions to allow inpatients in amber areas to receive one visitor for up to 30 minutes per day. Patients can nominate two individuals who can visit for the duration of their stay, ideally from the same household. Visitors must use hand sanitiser and wear a face mask on entry. They must also show evidence of a negative lateral flow test result taken that same day to be checked on entrance to the building. All visits must be booked in advance by telephoning the ward to allow wards to limit the number of visitors on a ward/bay at any one time. All visitors must be free of COVID-19 symptoms, and must not attend if they are a household contact of a COVID-19 positive case. We regret we are unable to allow visits by children (under 16 years) or those who are immunocompromised.

For more information see the visiting information here.

The current visiting arrangements for paediatrics, maternity and ICU remain in place. Maternity services will be increasing the length of time that partners are allowed to visit on inpatient wards. Our usual exemptions apply for inpatient children, those at end of life and people who lack mental capacity.

Red and green areas, where visiting is current not allowed should ensure you have robust systems in place to communicate with relatives/next of kin and to support communication between patients and their loved ones.

We will review visiting arrangements regularly based on a risk assessment taking into account COVID-19 case rates in the community and numbers of COVID-19 cases in our hospitals.

6. Reminder: Working from home guidance has been updated – Roadmap to returning to normality

The working from home guidance has been updated and is currently being reviewed in order for our Trust to enable a supportive transition for colleagues to begin returning to office working.

As the government roadmap indicates a lifting of restrictions and that a return to onsite work is possible, all staff should be prepared to work onsite when required to do so (subject to any changes to government guidance).

However, we recognise that the last couple of years has been challenging and the pandemic has changed the circumstances of some and impacted both work and personal lives. For those who have been working remotely for the past year, the prospect of returning may be exciting and/or anxiety inducing for multiple reasons. There may also be practical considerations and the need to plan for many.

SWB is committed to working with our people to ensure they are supported as we start to plan our return to ‘normal working’  and will maintain a ‘people first’ approach, focussed on the wellbeing of our staff as we have throughout the pandemic.

Accepting that some will feel anxious and have practical considerations about returning, leaders and managers are asked to deal with the gradual return in a sympathetic and supportive manner, including considering if there are reasons for increased flexibility to continue during this period. If you require advice at any stage, please contact your HR Business Partner.

During the transition back to work, a flexible and supportive approach is essential to:

• Welcome staff back to onsite work in a phased way, taking into account the impact the pandemic has had on the individual circumstances, mental and physical health.
• Account for the fact that some Trust buildings have been repurposed during the pandemic (i.e. Trinity House) so are no longer available at the same capacity.
• Anticipate possible future changes to government guidance including the potential to revert to ‘work from home if you can’ or similar guidance.
• Ensure any social distancing guidance that might impact building capacity is observed as well as other Infection Control measures
• Trial and test new working methods with a view to exploring what our future working practices will be.

Recognising the above, managers are encouraged to make local arrangements to bring their teams back to site to re-connect, re-familiarise and benefit from SWB facilities. Individual staff may also return to work on a regular basis should they wish. Subject to government guidance, SWB sites will revert to being the default workplace for those staff who have worked remotely for the duration of the pandemic.