COVID-19 Bulletin: Friday 3 September

September 3, 2021

1. New: Update to swabbing guidance

There has been a regional review of the swabbing guidance which now requires all inpatients to be swabbed on day 13 and then every 7 days for the remainder of their stay in hospital. This new change is now in effect and all colleagues must follow this new procedure.

This means inpatients will now be swabbed:

• On admission
• On day 3
• On day 7 and
• On day 13. And every 7 days if they remain an inpatient.

Patients must also be re-swabbed if they develop any COVID-19 symptoms.

The infection and control team have produced a screening guide for you to follow. Please click on the image below to see the screening guide.

For queries contact the infection control team on ext. 5900.

2. New: How to safely package your saliva test

Many of you have signed up to the weekly saliva (LAMP) testing programme – which is a speedy and accurate way of determining whether you have COVID-19.

You can book a kit collection slot for the weekly test which simply 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.

Here’s a pictorial guide on how to package your swab:

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.

You can also watch a video on how to do your saliva test here.

The latest data by group is below:

3. New: Following the right guidance when working for more than one organisation

Some colleagues are in a position where they are working for more than one NHS organisation.

Colleagues are advised that, when working across our sites, it is our isolation guidance that must be adhered to, which is that anyone, regardless of vaccination status, who lives in the same household as a positive COVID-19 case must not return to work, apart from some agreed exemptions.

Exemptions are:

• Those working in critical care where the prolonged absence of staff risks the safety of providing clinical or care services.
• On that basis, the team will mitigate that risk by allowing those who’ve had direct contact with a household member who is COVID positive to return to work with restrictions in place. These include a negative PCR test and having no contact with non-COVID-19 patients.
• The decision to allow staff to attend work in other areas will be made on a case by case basis. A COVID-19 self-isolation exemption decision assessment will need to be completed by a line manager. It will also require authorisation by the Director of IPC/Deputy Director IPC or the on-call manager out-of-hours.

This decision will ensure we can continue to support safe patient care and the safety of all our colleagues.

For the protocol and guidance, click here.

4. New: The flu jab and COVID-19 booster are coming soon!

As we move into September and head towards autumn days it won’t be long until the flu season will be upon us. Not only will we need to shield ourselves against flu as we approach the latter end of the year, it’s also important to protect ourselves as much as possible from COVID-19.

Towards the end of September we will be offering the flu jab and COVID-19 booster to all colleagues here at the Trust. These free vaccinations are on offer to help protect yourselves, patients, colleagues and loved ones from flu and COVID-19.

More information on how to book your slot for these vaccinations will be released in due course so keep a look out in the daily communications bulletin and on Connect.

Boost your immunity this winter.

5. New: Neutralising monoclonal antibody therapy – coming soon

Many of you may have heard of the new neutralising monoclonal antibody therapy against COVID virus that is soon to be available and will add an additional option in treatment for patients with COVID infection.

Data suggests that the therapy reduces the risk of progression to severe disease and reduces length of hospital stay. We are awaiting final notification of treatment availability and specific indications for use. Hopefully by next week the specifics of the treatment pathway will be available and the systems in place so we can start treating patients with this new class of anti-COVID therapies. We will share details with clinical teams and through the COVID-19 bulletin.

6. Reminder: COVID vaccination status for NHS staff entering care homes  

From 11 November 2021, all care home workers, and anyone entering a care home, will need to be fully vaccinated, unless they are exempt.

These new government regulations state that all care home staff are required to provide proof of having had two doses of an approved COVID-19 vaccine or that they fall within a specified exemption.  This applies to all CQC regulated care homes providing nursing or personal care in England.

All Trust staff (including temporary, voluntary, bank and agency staff) working to fulfil a service in a care home funded by the NHS are in scope of these regulations. This will include, but is not limited to:

• Primary care (general practice, dentistry, optometry and pharmacy), community health, mental health, learning disability and autism (MHLDA), acute teams providing outreach into care homes, non-emergency patient transport services, end of life community teams and staff attending to maintain medical equipment
• Staff not in a front-line caring role who visit a care home. For example, in relation to continuing health care or a training provider.

Under current vaccination guidance, eight weeks are required between the first and second vaccine dose. Therefore, all staff entering a care home for work – who are not exempt – need to have had their first dose by 16 September 2021 at the latest.

Line managers are asked to liaise with their teams who may be affected by these regulations to:

• Understand and document vaccination and exemption status of staff members
• Actively support uptake of vaccination ahead of 16 September 2021 and conduct supportive one to one conversations to establish reasons for vaccine hesitancy
• Carry out a risk assessment for staff and services impacted and actively plan workforce deployment for services. This is to avoid disruption to our service provision in care homes
• Ensure that relevant staff will be able to demonstrate, via the NHS app or otherwise, that they have either been fully vaccinated or are exempt from the requirement.

Further information/guidance can be obtained via Group HR Business Partners.

You can read the latest FAQs here.

7. Reminder: Wanted! Please return your respirator hoods  

Ahead of winter, the infection, prevention and control team (IPC team) are conducting an audit of all respirator hoods in use across the organisation.

The team would like to ensure that all hoods are available and in good working order. Your cooperation will ensure we have the equipment in place ahead of winter and that it is fit for purpose.

If you have any respirator hoods that you no longer require, please contact the IPC team or Scott Shenton on ext. 5089 or 07866 007539.