Updates
Update, 28 March
Published: 28 March 2020
Guidance for infection prevention and control in healthcare settings
In view of the latest public health guidance for infection prevention and control, the COVID response team are undertaking an immediate review of all our current internal protocols and guidance (including our Resuscitation algorithm).
New guidance will be communicated imminently.
Coronavirus staff website
The coronavirus staff website has been reconfigured. For patient facing staff undertaking clinical care, please do look at the clinical pathway and guidance section:
This contains continually updated internal information and protocols to assist in the management of all our patients.
Please remember to feed any new guidance through the Medical Scientific Advisory Group for rapid review and dissemination.
Email: MedicalScientificAdvisoryGroup@uhb.nhs.uk
Shuttle bus services ring and ride basis
With effect from Monday 30 March 2020 all shuttle bus services will run on a ring and ride basis.
We are attempting to reduce the movement of staff and also social distance them when travelling.
- For the Regent Court/QEHB service please call Tel: ext. 12505
- For the Edgbaston Cricket service please call Tel: ext. 12505
- For the intersite shuttle between QEHB/Heartlands please call Tel: ext. 12505
- For the intersite shuttle between Heartlands/Good Hope/Solihull please call Tel: ext. 41150
We will be keeping the timetable to as near as possible, but where the is no demand, staff will be assisting colleagues with other movements.
Car parking update
From Wednesday 1 April 2020 we will temporarily suspend car parking charges for all staff who currently pay for a car parking permit across the Trust.
For those staff, who usually use public transport, don’t have a Trust car park permit, and wish to drive to work, we are endeavouring to release as many extra spaces on site as possible, while ensuring that we provide enough capacity for our patients and visitors.
The 100 additional spaces on Heartlands and Good Hope sites have now been allocated. The only availability remaining is now on Solihull site.
These spaces were allocated through Estates’ Car Parking Team.
Staff members are not permitted to enter the Visitors car park without being authorised by the Estates Car Parking Team. Security will not authorise anyone entry to this car park.
As visitors car parks have been quieter due to the cancellation of clinics and visitor restrictions. The Trust made the decision to allow 100 of the visitor spaces to be used by staff.
To apply for one of these spaces staff are required to email the Car Parking Team.
Email: Car.Parking-Staff@uhb.nhs.uk
Staff authorised to park in those spaces will be issued with a 28 day exit ticket. Estates Car Parking Team maintain control of all car parks.
We are also aware that we currently have two barriers out of service on the Heartlands site, this does not mean that anyone who does not hold a permit or has a permit to park in Yardley Green offsite car parks are authorised to park on the main site.
Please can we all consider the clinical staff that have a more urgent requirement to have parking available onsite.
Electronic Prescribing (EP) disruption – Sunday 29 March 2020
On Sunday 29 March 2020, the clocks will be going forward by one hour.
This means that the Electronic Prescribing system at Heartlands, Good Hope and Solihull hospitals will be unavailable between 01:30 – 02:00.
To minimise the disruption caused please ensure that any routine prescribing/administrations are completed before midnight.
The Pharmacy ICT Team would like to apologise in advance for any disruption this will cause, and the on-call service will be available via switchboard to assist with any problems/issues, or with any urgent administrations that are required during this time.
Please communicate this message to any night staff who may be working at this time.
Fertility and pregnancy and Covid-19
For those patients or staff who have or do conceive spontaneously during this time, there is not any direct evidence of increased harm to pregnant women or the embryo or fetus due to coronavirus, although we have limited data on this due to the short exposure from the virus.
However, as a precautionary measure, the advice from our professional bodies such as the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology and British Fertility Society is that we should avoid fertility treatments leading to pregnancy at this time.
UHB provides secondary level care for fertility including investigation and initial treatments for subfertility. Patients prescribed Letrozole or Clomiphene for ovulation induction have been advised to stop the medication immediately.
All outpatient fertility investigations, and treatments have been cancelled until further notice due to the pandemic. Local tertiary providers of in vitro fertilisation services (Birmingham Women’s Hospital and University Hospitals of Coventry and Warwick) have suspended their services.