Updates
Update, 18 June
Published: 18 June 2020
Priority plasma donations for NHS staff
Staff at UHB who have recovered from COVID-19 are being prioritised for convalescent plasma donation.
Convalescent plasma is the antibody-rich plasma of people who have recovered from COVID-19, which can be transfused into people who are still ill.
NHS colleagues should call the telephone number below, say they want to donate convalescent plasma and explain they work for the NHS. They will then be given priority. They can also provide their details by visiting the NHS Blood and Transplant website.
Tel: 0300 123 23 23
UHB was the first Trust in the Midlands to transfuse plasma into COVID-19 patients, as part of a clinical trial, REMAP-CAP.
Drive through blood testing service at the NEC
A drive-in blood testing service at the NEC set up by the phlebotomy teams in collaboration with Birmingham and Solihull Clinical Commissioning Group at the NEC went live this week.
The service is located in car park S5, Resorts World Arena at the NEC site and will allow patients to have their blood tests taken without going into one of the Trust’s hospitals. Contact with others is kept to a minimum, which means that the service is good for those that are currently shielding.
Patients will be able to access the service by appointment only and will be contacted by UHB staff to be booked into a slot. Currently, the service is running from Monday to Friday with children’s appointments between 09:00 – 10:00.
Further patient information, including a map, is available on the public coronavirus site.
Restricted visiting - new guidelines for staff
Guidance from NHS England and NHS Improvement published on 8 June lifted the national suspension on visiting, giving Trusts discretion for local management.
UHB, like many other Trusts nationally, has taken the decision to maintain its restricted and controlled visiting until further notice. This is to ensure the safety of our hospital sites during phase 2 of our response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Visiting restrictions remain in place with one visitor only (an immediate family member or carer) permitted to visit an inpatient in exceptional circumstances. These are as follows:
- Close family member/someone important to a patient at the end of their life (last 24-48 hours) or when a death has occurred.
- Birthing partner accompanying a woman in labour / for caesarean / to support with language/ communication needs during induction.
- Parent or appropriate adult visiting child (under 18).
- Person supporting someone with dementia, a learning disability or autism, where not being present would cause the patient to be distressed.
- Person supporting/visiting someone with a mental health condition. A pre-booked visit would be permitted where the nurse in charge agrees that it is in the interests of the patient’s wellbeing or to support clinical decision-making.
Please ensure you read the new visiting guidelines which also cover visitors to A&E and outpatients, infection prevention and control, authorised visitor passes, virtual visiting and keeping in touch with relatives.
Trust Lesson of the Month - Section 17 leave
We are seeing an increase in patients from Mental Health inpatient units across requiring physical health care from our services. This has become more prevalent during the Covid-19 pandemic.
If a patient is detained under the Mental Health Act (MHA) at an inpatient unit and requires physical treatment, they need to be given ‘treatment leave’. This enables them to legally leave the unit to attend our hospitals for treatment. This is given under Section 17 of the MHA (s.17)
It is vitally important that the Trust is made aware as soon as possible of any patient who is on Section 17 leave.
June’s lesson of the month provides clear guidance for staff when a patient is identified as being detained under the Mental Health Act on Section 17 leave.
The lesson is available to view on the HGS intranet at the QEHB intranet (you must be logged in to a Trust PC or using VPN to view this information).