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COVID-19 Bulletin: Thursday 11 February

February 11, 2021

Numbers not statistics: This week (last week)

No. of our patients confirmed with COVID-19 No. of positive COVID-19 patients who have been discharged No. of COVID-19 positive patients who have died in our hospitals No. of COVID-19 positive current inpatients No. of COVID-19 research trial participants to date No. of staff logging lateral test results
Pre-Sept:
1,390 From 1 Sept:
4,283
(4,034)		 Pre-Sept:
1,218 From 1 Sept:
3,989
(3,673)		 Pre-Sept:
392 From 1 Sept:
653
(599)		 289
(344)		 1,071
(1,056)		 2,423
(2,376)

1. New: Ward Liaison Officers lend a hand across the Trust

Last month a new role was introduced to wards across the Trust in a bid to support clinical staff, freeing them up to focus on their clinical duties. To date more than 220 shifts have been supported, with the new role of COVID Ward Liaison Officer being deployed to areas where they are most needed. They work between 8am and 8pm, seven days a week, with an additional service in critical care at Sandwell overnight from 8pm to 8am. The staff are recruited from Trust Bank and volunteers and colleagues whose normal role has changed due to step down in services. If any colleague would like to volunteer to support clinical staff across our wards in this role, they can do so by contacting Trust Bank through the following:

Email: swbh.covidsupport@nhs.net

Call Trust Bank ext. 3600

Colleagues will be asked if they have been fit tested and if they need to be, they will be asked to book in before taking a shift.

The role is managed by the ward nurse in charge, and responsibilities include acting as a runner, collecting pharmacy drugs, helping with drink/snack rounds, helping patients keep in touch with relatives through technology, ward ventilation – opening and closing windows, basic admin and answering telephone calls. More information about the role is published on Connect here.

2. New: Celebrating International Day of Women and Girls in Science    

Colleagues may be aware that today is the 6th annual International Day of Women and Girls in Science and to mark it we’d like to pay tribute to the efforts of all our female colleagues working in scientific roles across the Trust. Of special note is Dr Tranprit Saluja, (Taran) Consultant Microbiologist and Trust Infection Prevention and Control doctor, who has made fighting infection her life’s work. In addition to leading Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust’s Infection Control Service as IPC doctor since 2017, the accomplished microbiologist is also deputy chair of the regional infection control forum, and an honorary senior lecturer at Aston University.

Her special interest is in the impact of infection on the body and how it can be fought off, antimicrobial stewardship and emerging antimicrobial resistance. When COVID hit last year Taran was at the forefront of the Trust’s response and has been splitting her time with a mix of clinical duties, on-call commitments, doing rounds and managing infection control. She is passionate about her role and using science to inform the path out of the pandemic.

She explained: “When a new virus comes along, science is essential to understand its battle plan, and it is the science which will determine our strategy to eventually beat COVID. Although it is inevitable we will experience set backs as the virus evolves, I am confident that our testing regime, sequencing  and robust infection control measures will ultimately win out over COVID as we understand more about it, and can therefore adapt our behaviour to prevent it spreading.”

3. Updated: Eat Well food vouchers

Further to our Eat Well message earlier in the week, we’ve had some queries about how the Eat Well vouchers are allocated.  On Mondays and Thursdays the food vouchers are distributed to all wards. Vouchers for departments are available on request by the departmental manager emailing the catering manager with the department name, contact number and quantity of food vouchers required. Once requested they can then be collected from the catering office. Details of all vouchers requested are maintained by the catering team and reconciled against the number of vouchers redeemed.

The scheme will be in place up to the end of March, when it will be reviewed. For any queries please contact:

Trust Catering Manager

Sandwell site

City site

Rowley Regis

4. Updated: Still time to get your COVID-19 vaccine

Colleagues who have had their first dose of the COVID vaccine will be aware that on attending your first appointment your second appointment will be booked – you do not have to phone to book your second appointment. If you have an appointment with the Trust for your first vaccine and then are offered it elsewhere, please cancel your booked appointment to ensure we have as much notice as possible to rebook your slot. Unfortunately we have experienced a high number of DNAs recently which could potentially cause significant wastage.

The vaccine hubs at Sandwell and City will stop offering first doses after this week in order to support the allocation of vaccine supplies across the system so that priority groups are able to be vaccinated as quickly as possible. The facility will reopen in March to administer second doses. If you require a vaccine after this week please see more information about alternative vaccination centres on Connect by clicking here.

There are still slots available for first doses of the vaccine this week in the Vaccine Hub at Sandwell Hospital Education Centre and the Vaccine Hub at City Hospital which located in the Cardiac Rehab Gym in the Ground Floor of the Sheldon Building

To book please call 0121 507 4112 between 8am – 8pm.