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COVID-19 Bulletin: Sunday 17 May

May 17, 2020

This is our seven days a week bulletin. Please use this bulletin and cascade arrangements within care and corporate groups to guide your actions. Throughout May we are determined to reduce avoidable harm and death in the people we are taking care of. Kindness remains the guiding principle of all the actions in our work to tackle the virus – kindness in how we look after patients, visitors, and one another.

 Stay alert is the government’s strapline for May and June.  For us that means getting our basics right.  Handwashing and social distancing are essential parts of our work to make sure COVID-19 is not spread inside our organisation, between us, or from us to our patients.  We know that cross infection is a real risk, so all of us need to be part of role modelling and challenging behaviours or practices that do not support our work on public health.  Please play your part and help others to do the same.  It’s ok to ask someone whether they have washed their hands, it’s ok to say don’t stand so close to me.

  1. Risk assessments available for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) colleagues

On Friday, a Chief Executive-led review meeting with senior staff from BAME backgrounds will look through the evidence and risk assessments to consider how best we approach staffing arrangements during June, July and August.  It is already the case that any colleague from a BAME background can request, and indeed insist, on a new risk assessment of their work status.

This renewed risk assessment can be done by:

  • Talking to your line manager who will work through the options with you.
  • Contacting our HR advice line on ext 3116 who will work ‘independently’ with you.
  • Contacting tobylewis@nhs.net who is the executive sponsor for the Trust’s Black and Minority Ethnic Staff Network, who will oversee work to support you.

Medical Director David Carruthers along with Toby will be hosting the forthcoming session to co-design with colleagues what approach we need to take, as we move into a time where we are both managing COVID-19 and implementing the Restoration and Recovery Plan to re-open some services in May and June, and most services in July.

  1.  Research & Development – We know #sciencewins when finding a cure

There is now a COVID-19 treatment trial open for patients being seen by GPs in our Your Health Partnership Directorate (YHP). This includes residents of care homes who are able to consent to participate.

The trial is open to people with COVID-19 symptoms who are over the age of 65 with or without other health problems and for patients who are between 50 and 64 who have one of a number of pre-existing health conditions. Dr Abdul Tabassum, from YHP, is the principal investigator for this study.

The study is currently evaluating whether a seven-day course of hydroxychloroquine, a well-known drug used for acute malaria and certain types of arthritis, can reduce the severity of symptoms in vulnerable groups and help avoid hospital admission. The antibiotic azithromycin will soon be added to the trial. If a patient is registered with YHP and meets the criteria for this study they may get a text inviting them to join if they develop COVID-19 symptoms.

Alternatively if you think you could take part go to https://www.phctrials.ox.ac.uk/principle-trial/how-to-join.

As with all of our other COVID-19 research, if you want to know more, please contact Gina Dutton, Head of Research and Development.

  1. QIHD – We want to your ideas to help inform our restoration plans

Many of you took part in our virtual QIHD, held on Wednesday 13th May, which focused on learning from COVID-19. It was a chance for teams to shape their future strategy around our organisation’s Restoration and Recovery Plan, which is being developed this month for approval at June’s Trust Board.

We need your outcome reports from these QIHDs urgently as they will help inform our restoration plans – so we want to hear from you. Our emphasis remains on things that could make a difference to outcome, whether that is trial enrolment, proning or oxygen prescription.  There will be no going back, so please grab this chance to say what works best.

Email your outcome reports to: swbh.qihdadmin@nhs.net.

  1. Recharge booth – Get your fix on Thursday

The Recharge Booth is a ‘virtual’ space that allows you to come together with others, reflect, recharge, decompress, and join a safe and confidential discussion. You can get involved with the booth by either listening in or by sharing your story. These stories are important learning for all of us. Please consider if sharing your experience would help you or us. The Recharge Booth will be open every Thursday from 2pm for 20-30 minutes to hear a different story each time from a colleague who has put themselves forward to share an experience that they want to talk about – it can be anything but likely to be COVID-19 related to begin with.

For more information please contact Richard Burnell on 07747 144874 or Claire Hubbard on 07866 004575.  If you would like to be part of the Recharge Booth, drop an email to swbh.rechargebooth@nhs.net.  A WebEx invite will be sent to your outlook diary, and you will simply need to click on the ‘join’ button to enter..

  1. Working From Home (WFH) – new guidance to be issued for June

So far the Trust has issued two sets of WFH guidance. The most recent on 7th April.

Further guidance will come out on 27th May for the period to the end of July 2020.

  • If you are working from home you must have the written agreement of your line manager, work in a non-clinical function, have emailed wfh@nhs.net and downloaded our myConnect App onto your mobile.
  • If you are self-isolating because of your own symptoms or those of your loved ones, you must contact your line manager who will register your absence on ESR.  If you have not done that, or are not sure that your line manager has, please contact your line manager or log into ESR.
  • If you are shielding because of a notified condition having received a letter from your GP or NHS England last week, please make sure your line manager has updated your record on ESR.

If you are not sure which of the above applies to you, please ring HR on extension 3116. You can read the full guidance here.

Look out for the revised June and July guidance, and space to talk in Team Talk this month about some of the principles which will sit behind our longer term home working model.  It is really important that we make it simple and rewarding to work from home, fair on those who do, and those who don’t – and we support people managing those who WFH.

PDRs can be done by WebEx!

The Connect Coronavirus page is continually being updated with the latest news and guidance regarding the virus, please take the time to read and familiarise yourself with the available guidance