COVID-19 Bulletin: Sunday 12 April
April 12, 2020
This is our once a day COVID-19 bulletin. This will take all national and professional guidance and information and tell you which changes we are implementing when and how. The plan to manage through April is our Operation Mary Seacole mobilisation. Remember KINDNESS is our watchword in implementing our plans.
As the Easter Bank Holiday draws to a close, please consider whether, with schools off for the foreseeable future, now is the time to relocate to one of the Trust’s hotel rooms. These provide a safe place to base yourself and keep working, while protecting your loved ones at home.
1. Everyone can play their part in the science…
Over 600 people have been confirmed as Covid+ within our Trust. So far 33 have been enrolled in the Recovery Trial, which is the clinical trial being undertaken nationally on effective treatments.
Please make sure you know what is needed in order to enrol in the trial by contacting Gina Dutton and Derek Connolly. We want to be a high recruiter!
The country is gearing up to begin to trace the spread of the virus. One helpful way to contribute to that effort is putting your own details into https://www.nhs.uk/coronavirus-status-checker
This keeps tabs on your health symptoms and helps to plot postcodes showing higher incidence. Give it a go!
2. Taking our Safety Plan seriously
In the same way that we are still focusing time on incident reporting, and Quality Improvement, it remains important to deliver on the full range of Safety Plan checks within the first 24 hours of a patient’s admission. This is especially important with new staff working in unfamiliar ward areas.
Over the coming week Group Directors of Nursing will be working with each team to make sure that you have processes in place in blue and red areas to undertake these key quality tests for pain assessments, pressure risk and other key evaluations.
If any ward leadership team is not finding it possible to undertake these checks in a systematic way, or to see data on your performance please get in touch with Paula Gardner, our Chief Nurse, over the next 24 hours.
3. Are you isolating at home with symptoms or with someone who is?
About 250 colleagues are off work now and have not been tested. You might be isolating yourself, or at home because someone you live with has symptoms. We can test non-driving households at home, but for everyone else we have capacity to get you tested on site.
If you are experiencing symptoms within the first few days of onset, with the test at its most effective, we need to get you tested.
To book your testing slot:
- Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm, call 0121 507 2664 option 5
Weekends 9am – 4pm, call 07970428995 or 07816992873
4. Have you just been re-deployed?
About 70 colleagues we have redeployed have not been FIT tested. FIT testing is vital to making sure we get you the right PPE. We run FIT testing clinics every day, mostly with booked appointments. Please get in touch via extension 5050 to book your appointment.
We have a large group of staff who have been FIT tested but only for one FFP3 mask. Over the next fortnight we may need to re-test you for stock where we have a confident supply. Keep your eye out for details!
5. PHE – donning and doffing
You may recall Mark Anderson’s infamous video which explained the importance of how you put on and how you take off PPE in our red areas. Public Health England have now produced guidance which reinforces this message.
All ward leaders are encouraged to use this guidance at handover to make sure best practice is being adopted in each part of the Trust. Read the PHE guidance.
By at least some popular demand we re-include our Easter film explaining the Trust’s plans. Everyone has a part to play in supporting or being re-deployed, in leadership roles or within a Brigade. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8Gyf2jHQXg