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COVID-19 Bulletin: Monday 7 December

December 7, 2020

Tomorrow is being hailed as a pivotal day for the NHS, as 50 NHS hospital hubs commence the task of vaccinating the vulnerable, in a move seen by many as the beginning of the end of the pandemic.

You can read more about this below, and if you have any questions please let us know by email swbh.comms@nhs.net. It is inevitable as we move through the next couple of months that there will changes and news you need to know, so please make sure you keep up to date with everything that is going on by reading this bulletin. We will only add reminders or update items if we need you to focus on that area, to ensure we are all working together to beat COVID.

Thank you for caring for our patients and each other.

1.  New: ICU on the move

City Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) has temporarily moved out of their regular home in order to facilitate deep cleaning.

Owing to a policy change by the regional transfer service preventing transfer of CPAP / NIV COVID patients to other ICUs within our Network, they will for now be based out of ward D16 and operating a somewhat reduced capacity until the cleaning is complete. A satellite Level 2 ICU area in D17 is also being utilised.

 The cleaning is due to be completed tomorrow afternoon, allowing time for new monitors to be installed before patients are transferred back into ICU later this week.

 2.  New: Update on Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine

Colleagues will have seen national media coverage about the first approved COVID vaccine as it starts to be rolled out across the UK. As you know the vaccine has been approved in the UK as effective and safe and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust was announced as the first site in the Black Country and West Birmingham to start administering the vaccination. The order in which people will receive the vaccine is decided by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and they have advised that age is the single greatest risk of mortality from COVID-19. Patients aged 80 and above who are already attending hospital as an outpatient, and those who are being discharged home after a hospital stay, will be among the first to be vaccinated.

 Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust will start to work with care home providers to book their staff in to vaccination clinics. Appointments not used for these groups will be used for healthcare workers who are at highest risk of serious illness from COVID. All those vaccinated will need a booster jab 21 days later. As you may have seen on the news, the Pfizer vaccine is extremely fragile. The vaccine can only be transported in sub-zero temperatures which will mean for now it can only be delivered from designated Hospital Hubs and this will impact on the initial availability of the vaccine, especially in the first few weeks/months. You will be contacted when you are able to be vaccinated, so there is nothing for you to do at this point. We expect additional vaccination hub sites to be announced in coming days.

3.  New: Don’t worry, Santa Claus is still coming to town

Rest assured Christmas at SWB is not cancelled and we have arrangements in place to ensure that we celebrate safely this year.

Safe decorations this Christmas
Due to infection prevention and control, the traditional Christmas decorations we all enjoy each year cannot be put up as there are difficulties with cleaning them. However, we will be providing areas with laminated Christmas posters that are able to be cleaned. We will also provide PAT tested festive light projectors to bring seasonal cheer to some areas.

Please do not:

  • Bring in your own decorations
  • Put any decorations up that are not laminated or cleanable

Please do:

  • Restrict touching of posters or projectors other than for cleaning or moving only.

 Christmas visiting

We are expecting to relax our visiting restrictions between 23 and 27 December, in line with government easing of restrictions over Christmas. However, this will depend on community cases and hospital COVID cases. Our visiting arrangements over Christmas will therefore be published nearer the time.

 Christmas food

You must not share any food with colleagues due to the risks of spreading infections. As always, good hand hygiene should be maintained before and after eating. You must ensure social distancing in staff areas during breaks. A free takeaway Christmas brunch will be available for staff working on Christmas Day at our retail outlets. Please check Connect here for more detail on opening hours and how to claim.

 Christmas services

Whilst religious services are normally a big part of the Trust’s Chaplaincy over the festive period, like every other service they are restricted this year by Coronavirus, lockdown and the guidelines currently in place to keep us all safe. However, there will be a Christmas service, performed by our chaplain Rev Mary Causer.

 Like so many gatherings it will be going virtual; with the service being broadcast on the Trust’s YouTube channel and on the Chaplaincy service’s Facebook page on Christmas Day with an expected live time of 9am. After which the video will be available on demand. Please keep an eye out through your regular Trust daily bulletins for further updates nearer to the time.

 

Christmas Jumper Day

If you’re looking to get into the Christmas spirit by wearing something festive, colleagues around the Trust can do so, and raise some money for Your Trust Charity by celebrating Christmas Jumper Day on December 11.

The ‘rules’ have been slightly expanded for 2020. For clinical areas, you may wear your own appropriate Christmas clothing such as festive scrubs tops/t-shirts provided that you can keep bare below the elbows (BBE) and that there is nothing embellished that can fall off and is in line with the uniform policy. Scrubs tops/t-shirts must be laundered at 60 degrees C and should be worn with uniform / scrubs trousers. You must ensure you wear PPE as usual in clinical areas.

Non-clinical areas are permitted to wear festive clothing (stud earrings, hair scrunchies, socks and ties –  as well as jumpers) providing IPC guidelines can be followed.

All areas should consider how they can take part in Christmas Jumper Day  and raise funds for Your Trust Charity. Text YTCJUMPERDAY to 70085 to donate your £2 and don’t forget to send your festive pics – with proper social distancing – in to swbh.comms@nhs.net. And, if you’ve got a taste for the season of goodwill and wish to wear your festive favourite top from 20 December through to 2 January, then please feel free. During this time you may also wish to play some seasonal Christmas music, but please be aware of the volume, lest we disturb patients trying to rest.