COVID-19 Update 13

Important items as Easter approaches

PLEASE NOTE - THIS REPLACES PREVIOUS VERSION WITH AMENDED SECTION ON LEAVE AND SECTION 17 LEAVE

Introduction

This update comes as we prepare for the Easter weekend which, for many of our staff, including those running the incident control room at Harplands, will be like normal working days. Thank you in advance to all who will be working over the next few days.

In today’s update, there are a number of important messages. Please read these as they may well be important to your own work.

The situation in the hospital continues to be calm and we have now tested over 30 inpatients in total for COVID-19. We have only had one patient who has tested positive outside Ward 7 and have transferred this patient to be cared for by the Ward 7 team, to reduce the risks of cross-infection on other wards. Thank you to all teams who continue to work in these areas and in what can be uncomfortable PPE. I wanted to give a particular shout out to our army of support staff – in particular our domestic, portering and catering staff who have been working so hard to support our clinical areas. Thank you.

This week we’re working very closely with partner NHS Trusts to ensure there are enough beds to treat all patients. Combined has about 200 beds in total across various sites, with the majority of course being at Harplands Hospital. Over the coming weeks we may need to accept some patients that we would not usually admit. This is to ensure that our colleagues in the Royal Stoke University Hospital have enough beds to treat all patients with COVID-19 who need admission. We will work with individual areas to arrange this and ensure this is done safely.

Today I have important updates on the following:

Staff Testing for COVID-19
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – Trust Position
Guidance for RC’s on Leave and Section 17 Leave
Invoice Approval / Authorisation - Reminder

Jonathan O'Brien - Director of Operations and Deputy Chief Executive

Staff Testing

As I noted in my last update, this week we are starting to see the availability of staff testing for COVID-19 increase dramatically. We do now have staff testing available in the Trust and we are prioritising based on strict clinical criteria. The test available tells us whether a member of staff currently has COVID-19, not whether they have had it in the past and have cleared the virus. In technical terms it is the antigen test, not the antibody test. This will assist us where members of staff are self-isolating due to having symptoms themselves. If the test proves negative, we will be able to facilitate an earlier return to work than is currently available. It will also give a definite answer to individuals on whether they have the virus.

If you are currently self isolating or are symptomatic and you fall into the relevant criteria – specifically being in the early stages of isolation – we may be able to make a test available to you and will contact you to inform you of this.

PPE

Public Health England (PHE) have been working with other national bodies including the medical and nursing royal colleges and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). They have undertaken a rapid evidence review and have published updated guidance on PPE use for health and social care teams.

As a result the Trust has updated its guidance to ensure that our staff have access to the very latest information in order to keep our staff safe in caring for patients with confirmed or possible COVID-19. This updated guidance which is based on the best scientific evidence and is consistent with World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations, is also being implemented by MPFT and our two Local Authorities.

We have endeavoured to make the guidance as clear and as accessible as possible and to compliment this a pictorial guide has also been provided - click here to download.

Our priority has always been to protect the health of our patients and our staff. There is no requirement to wear additional items of PPE that are above and beyond those which are outlined within this guidance. It is also extremely important that PPE is not worn outside of the clinical area or in situations where it is not required.

Covid guidance - Leave and Special Leave

We have previously outlined guidance on leave for patients and in particular Section 17 leave. Please find attached some bullets which make the Trust’s position clear:

It is the Responsible Clinician’s responsibility to authorise leave / Section 17 leave.
Due to the current COVID19 pandemic, Responsible Clinicians must review all their patients’ Section 17 leave and informal patients leave to ensure it meets with the government guidance on social distancing/isolation.
For the time being, unescorted leave is cancelled as we have no control over where our patients will go in the community (this is with the exception of escorted leave needed to attend necessary medical appointments/RSUH).
All older adult leave / Section 17 leave is to be rescinded until further notice, with the exception of escorted leave needed to attend necessary medical appointments/RSUH.
Nursing staff are to be aware that any leave restriction implemented is based on the usual risk assessment, care plan being updated to include the restriction, with a date for this to be reviewed.
There should be a clinical entry to record the conversation with the patient as to why the restriction is being implemented. Wherever possible they must be advised of the government guidance on social distancing.
For informal patients, where restrictions are implemented there must be a clinical record that the person understood and consented to this restriction at this time. Informal patients who do not wish to remain on the ward with this new guidance will need to be assessed for discharge wherever possible.

Reminder - Invoice authorisation - Goods Receipting

The Trust is striving to do our part to keep the economy and businesses supported at the present time. We spend nearly £100m per year so we have a big role to play locally in ensuring our community prospers.

It’s always important to ensure that the Trust is able to pay its suppliers promptly for goods and services, this is even more important during the current national emergency. We have been instructed by central government to aim to pay all invoices within 7 days of the receipt of the goods or service to which it relates in order to support the economy and keep cash flowing around the system in a timely manner so can I please request that you authorise/GRN as soon as you possibly can. Additionally, we also need to ensure we part-pay invoices for non-disputed elements, so if you have a query/dispute on part of an invoice can you please GRN / authorise the invoice for part-payment. If you have any queries please don’t hesitate to contact the financial accounts team at: NSCHT.FinanceAssistants.nhs.uk