COVID-19 Update 24

What you MUST do as we approach winter

Introduction

Winter is always a time of challenge and pressure for the NHS.  In some ways, this winter will be no different.  In others it could be like no other. As we approach the winter season, in today’s update, I want to reinforce what we all MUST do as we approach and go through the winter season. I am most grateful for help and input from my fellow Executive Directors, Kenny Laing and Shajeda Ahmed, for their input into this Update.

Since the last update I provided in relation to COVID, as you will be aware the national position in relation to COVID infection and transmission rates has continued to increase. In response to this the national COVID alert level has been formally raised to ‘Level 4 – Transmission is high or rising exponentially’ the national infection and transmission rate is now at the same level as we were experiencing in May 2020. 

We all must play our part, be responsible and mindful of the steps that we must take to reduce the spread of infection to look after our health, safety and wellbeing.. The key updates are summarised here and the government’s expectation is that these measures will need to remain in place until March 2021.

As an NHS employer, we have a duty of care to our staff, patients and their families to prevent the further spread of the virus and ultimately prevent serious illness and deaths which we all know COVID can cause, particularly in vulnerable groups in our hospitals and communities.

Please ensure you have read and understood ALL of the items below:

1. Working Practices
2. ​Working from home
3. Requirements if you have to enter Trust sites and cannot work from home
4. Wearing of face masks in all NHS premises
5. Influenza vaccination programme 

Working Practices

I wanted to take this opportunity to remind staff about working practices that allow us to continue to deliver our services whilst keeping our staff and service users safe. I reiterate the guidance below:

1. In person face-to-face assessments and care can be undertaken in community facilities for all service users when required. This includes urgent and routine cases of all ages where a physical face-to-face consultation would be preferential to a digital one. Digital video contact still remains our default preferred option if this method allows a safe level of assessment and effective care to be provided. When seeing service users in person, staff should adhere to social distancing guidance and utilise PPE in line with guidance on the COVID intranet page. PPE is available in all community sites.
2. Staff can use community facilities to work, providing risk assessments are completed for the premises and staff. Your team leaders and service managers will be able to inform you when this is complete. All staff should continue to adhere to social distancing guidance (2 metres) and utilise PPE (in particular, a face mask).
3. Continuing to work from home remains a perfectly good option for the many of our staff and we would encourage staff to continue to do so where possible. This will continue to be agreed through line management structures and personal plans. It will facilitate social distancing within sites via fewer staff being present at once. Arrangements for the number of staff in individual sites at one time have been agreed and signage distributed to all sites to make this clear.
4. All teams categorised patients using a risk-based approach during the initial wave of the pandemic and continue to do so. It is expected that all patients categorised as highest risk continue to receive face-to-face reviews and interventions and this can be done via either digital means or in person.
5. The Trust is recommending that all clinicians consider the impact of COVID-19 and lockdown in all assessments and reviews. Clinicians are encouraged to openly discuss such issues with service users under their care, recognising that recent events will have affected the lives and the mental health of many of our service users.
6. All discharges from inpatient care should be made using a CPA approach in line with Trust policy on care plans and fully involve home treatment and community teams as required. In particular, wards are asked to ensure community teams and families and carers are involved in all discharge plans.

Working from home

As the prime minister reiterated in his statement on 22nd September, if any of our staff are able to work from home, this should be the preferred option in order to lessen the spread of the virus and protect our communities. In keeping with the steps we have taken during 2020, there are risk assessments and policies which are available to support you to do this, which can be found here 

To help contain the virus, if you can work effectively from home, you should do so over the winter.  The Trust has put in place arrangements to enable you to work from home.  If you can effectively work from home, you must do so and not enter any of the Trust’s sites.

Exceptions to working from home

The only exceptions are if you absolutely have to enter the Trust’s sites

• For work related purposes, subject to agreement with your line manager in advance;
• For work that must be carried out on site in line with service user needs;
• To receive the flu vaccination; and
• For service user non-work related purposes.

As a Trust, we are keen to ensure that all our staff’s needs, balanced with the need to offer high quality care to our service users, are met during this COVID pandemic. If you have any queries about your ability to work from home please have a discussion with your line manager in order to review your personal plan which all staff should have agreed earlier in the year.

Requirements if you have to enter Trust sites and cannot work from home

If you do need to enter any of the Trust’s sites, you must have a conversation with your manager and agree on the length of time and specific purpose for doing so, unless you are carrying out work on site in line with service user needs, e.g. some Clinical staff in a non-community setting. 

If you do enter the Trust premises, you must ensure that you comply with any health, safety, infection prevention control requirements relating to that site, including social distancing and the wearing of PPE.

Your manager will be able to advise you on what these requirements are before you enter the site. 

You must adhere to the Trust requirement that the wearing of face coverings is mandatory in all indoor areas of the Trust. The only exception to this is where a staff member is in a room alone.

Our buildings and areas have been risk assessed and notices for room occupancy displayed e.g. office space. hand sanitiser and masks are readily available with other PPE as required.

For any of our staff that absolutely cannot work from home, for example, some Clinical staff within our non-community settings, you should continue to go to your place of work to deliver care for our service users.

The risk of transmission can be substantially reduced if COVID-19 secure guidelines are followed closely and the Trust has ensured that these are in place at our sites. We have also given extra consideration to our people at higher risk; and our managers will continue to regularly review individual health risk assessments with our people.

Wearing of face masks in all NHS premises

As I wrote in the last update, all NHS staff are now required to wear face masks on NHS premises (including corporate and community sites), if they cannot work from home. This is in response to the high infection rates of COVID nationally and locally and aims to minimise the risk of transmission amongst all our staff. There have been several examples of NHS employees contracting COVID in their communities, coming into work and whole departments then contracting the virus due to being in a shared workspace. In the Trusts where this has happened it’s had a significant impact on the service being provided (such as finance and HR departments having to close down).

I am acutely aware that wearing face masks for long periods of time can be uncomfortable, so taking regular breaks (outside or on your own) to remove the mask is encouraged where possible. It is also important to remain well hydrated and nourished and removing your mask to enable you to eat and drink is, of course, also fine.

Influenza vaccination programme 

The Trust is now running influenza vaccination clinics for all members of staff across the organisation. Clearly with the rising rates of COVID infections and the likelihood that COVID infection rates will remain high during winter, it is incredibly important that everyone who is eligible for a vaccine, including all NHS employees have their vaccination this year. This will protect individuals, patients and families from the threat of influenza and therefore, reduce the impact of COVID by improving the overall health of everybody.

The Trust has ordered additional vaccines this year, so supply will not be an issue. We have also implemented an electronic booking system which will provide you with a 10 minute appointment slot of your choosing. If you haven’t yet booked your appointment, please click here to do so.