COVID-19 bulletin: Sunday 29 March
March 29, 2020
This is our once a day bulletin. This will take all national and professional guidance and information and tell you which changes we are implementing when and how. Please use this bulletin and daily cascade arrangements within clinical groups to guide local action. Remember KINDNESS is our watchword in implementing our plans.
If you’re reading this bulletin do talk about it with your colleagues. But remember to be 2 metres apart! If you find colleagues who don’t read it or access it, encourage them to download My Connect on their mobile. That way they can know the plan and make sense of their part in our work.
- Delighted that our staff testing work got moving again today
Over coming days we are expecting to test over 300 staff, before a wider relaunch across the Black Country. We have also tested some high risk colleagues from partner organisations, because we are one NHS. Bear in mind we have 1008 colleagues away from work right now owing to a positive test, or self-isolation, many because of family or housemates. Thank you on behalf of all of us to the truly amazing testing teams, Infection Control staff, lab partners and estates teams standing up our Pop Up swab shops.
If you have been absent for 14 days from work, you must do get in touch with your line manager or contact HR extension 3116 to talk through your situation. We want to help, and to advise. We need every member of our Trust staff at work night and day right now.
2. Hand washing and social distancing matter very very much
Our focus on PPE and on staff welfare must not obscure the basics of tackling this virus. If you are not washing your hands more than a dozen times a day, and observing hand hygiene associated with infection control, you are posing a risk to others. Remember one person over three cycles of contact can infect 59,000 people. So the infection risk is not about just you, it’s about all of us.
Whether it is on the shuttle bus, in the Arches queue, in the theatres staff room, or in management meetings, you need to observe social distancing best practice. It feels weird at first. Perhaps quite stark. But it is our best bet to do what we need to do and break the surge cycle. It’s ok to ask colleagues to not stand so close to you….(that’s a song..)
3. Car parking arrangements on all our sites
Yes you can!
Our barriers are up. From Wednesday April 1st the Trust can stop charging for parking because we will receive central funds for the income. So, especially if you are undertaking clinical and patient facing work, please make use of the car parks, on the days that walking or cycling to work does not appeal.
4. New Leasowes and care of the dying in our Trust
Ten days ago we changed the work of Leasowes. We did this because side rooms hospital wide are needed for Covid-19 isolation, and so those on palliative pathways would otherwise be in open wards. The unit in Oldbury has become wholly devoted to CQC-outstanding End of Life Care. Make sure you know the pathways, and thank you to the team in the unit adjusting to a huge change in their working lives.
Across the Trust though visitor restrictions are placing emotional load on families and on our teams. Every single ward has at least one Video Phone. This allows you to connect people at home with people here. If you do not know how to use it, or yours has gone missing contact Martin Sadler, our Chief Informatics Officer direct. We are absolutely committed to helping families to stay in touch. Look out for guidance posted outside our wards next week.
5. Next week is retraining & temporary deployment week
In our Covid Update 7 on Friday 27th Toby Lewis set out the basis for our workforce plan as we look to get ahead of curve as very unwell patient numbers mount.
Line managers across critical care and theatres, surgical and medical wards, medical staff, therapies, and into outpatients, CNS areas, and corporate functions will be out next week talking with individuals about plans to train over 300 staff in new roles. By Monday April 6th we have to be ready to have our EDs, wards and critical care facilities operating to our Covid-19 Surge Plan. The bulletin on Tuesday will be devoted to this topic. But it’s ok to ask now. Talk to us. Talk to HR on 3116. Think about what you need to help you. Whether you are in bowel screening, a dermatologist or cardiologist, in a community setting, or working in theatres, you are part of the fight.
6. FFPE3: Getting it right and helping us all not to get this wrong
Our red area guidance remains as before. Our stock levels are improving sharply. Boxed deliveries now go to every area and next week we start Operation hoard-less to remove any excess stock secreted in departments (please give it up now before we find it…). Full time FIT testers will be operating on acute sites from April 1st.
It is important you use the mask you have been allocated and tested for. In particular, we are seeing a surge of use of Alpha mask not the Aura mask. That means your use and our stock are out of sync, because we are ordering against our FIT list. 8,000 Alphas are coming. But please/please use the Aura mask is that is what you were allocated. If you need a re-FIT test, look out for details of how to get one next week. A picture of the Aura is below.