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COVID-19 Bulletin: Wednesday 20 January

January 20, 2021

New:

  • COVID-19 Vaccinations now open to all staff
  • Cleaning for Confidence – Scrubbing up on your skills

 Reminder:

  • Face masks – They’re not one size fits all
  • Keeping everyone safe – Testing and isolation
  • Recording COVID related absence on ESR

1. New –  COVID-19 Vaccinations now open to all staff

A testament to the hard work and determination of our vaccination team, we are now please to be able to offer the COVID-19 vaccination to all staff from the Sandwell hospital hub, regardless of role or risk assessed criteria.

Email invitations have now gone out to all remaining colleagues who were yet to receive their first dose of the vaccine, but if you haven’t spotted the message or you have mislaid it, you can book your vaccination by contacting the booking team on 0121 507 4112 to book into an available slot.

Please remember however that we are currently only offering the first dose of the vaccine. At your first vaccine appointment you will be booked for your second dose 12 weeks after the first dose has been administered, a time interval that there is no flexibility on. This is following national guidelines and is mirrored in all other Trusts, GPs and vaccination centres. The first dose offers good levels of protection and we can reduce transmission significantly in the community by giving more people the first dose and the second dose after 12 weeks.

2. New – Cleaning for Confidence – Scrubbing up on your skills

Keeping our sites safe and clean for patients is a commitment that we all share. It is something that has never been more important. Evidence shows that a range of actions such as wearing PPE, keeping our distance in and out of work, hand hygiene as well as clean sites will help to significantly reduce the spread of infection.

We know that colleagues have been working tirelessly throughout 2020 to keep essential services running. We also know that if PPE is not being worn correctly, social distancing is not maintained and cleaning best practice is not followed then it can contribute to outbreaks – which means we must go further to address this.

Coronavirus outbreaks within healthcare settings have been seen across the country – something that anecdotal evidence and academic studies alike suggest are impacting the public’s confidence when accessing the medical attention they need.

A programme of e-learning – ‘Cleaning for Confidence’ – has been developed to support staff in ‘scrubbing up’ on their knowledge of good cleaning practice, as well as helping to reinforce other actions that help to stop the spread of infection.

Colleagues are being asked to take the time to log in to the new training package that’s available through e Learning for Health

3. Reminder – Face masks – They’re not one size fits all

There’s more to face masks than you would think, it’s not simply a matter of grabbing the closest mask to you as you enter a ward, they only really work if they fit well.

For those of us who simply wear a fluid resistant surgical mask (FRSM), it’s just a matter of making sure you put it on the right way round (colour side outside) and to pinch the bridge of the nose to get it to fit. However if you need to wear an FFP3 mask or respirator, there is a whole range to choose from depending on the shape of your face, and you must be fit tested and assessed before you wear one in a clinical setting.

Colleagues MUST ensure that they have been fit tested for the current stock of face masks, this stock can change depending on availability so it’s important to keep an eye on comms for alerts about stock changes.

Under no circumstances should staff simply wear any mask they have at hand. Ill-fitting masks that allow particles to pass by the side of the masks leave the wearer at risk. You MUST be fit tested to be able to safely wear a face mask and be assured it is working properly.

To book yourself in for fit testing please call ext. 5050 and the team will book you into a slot at a site, date and time to suit you. Fit testing clinics are available everyday between 8am and 4pm. Additional capacity has been made available to respond to the changed requirements for fit-tested masks in amber, community and outpatient areas.

We expect to provide refined guidance on PPE tomorrow, following a number of queries received.

4. Reminder – Keeping everyone safe – Testing and isolation

Thank you to everyone who has been completing their Lateral Flow Tests and crucially, inputting their results online. Your results are strictly confidential and are never shared. However, the data provides us with really useful information about the spread of COVID-19 amongst staff so it’s incredibly important not only to carry out the test but to continue inputting your results online. A link can be found on Connect or you can click through from here.

 Remember, if your Lateral Flow test returns a positive you must self-isolate and alert your line manager immediately. You will be required to book in to complete a PCR swab test to confirm the results.

 Likewise, colleagues who have a household member who tests positive for COVID-19 must isolate immediately, even if they have returned negative Lateral Flow Test results. This is because there can be a time delay between contracting COVID and becoming contagious and the Lateral Flow Tests indicating a positive result.

5. Reminder – Recording COVID related absence on ESR

It is important to correctly record staff absence related to COVID-19 on ESR. This is to ensure that colleagues can receive the right support and to ensure that there are no discrepancies in pay.

The ESR team have produced some guidance showing the process for recording each type of absence.

You can view the full guidance by clicking here.