Covid Secure Workplace

Last updated on July 27th, 2020 at 10:59 am

ALL staff are now required to wear a surgical face mask within clinical AND public areas.

Office areas

Managers of office areas should perform a Covid Secure Risk Assessment and if the department is ‘Covid Secure’, staff DO NOT have to wear a face mask in this area.

To be classed as Covid Secure you must have:

• Carried out the Covid Secure Risk Assessment
• Access to hand washing facilities and alcohol gel
• Taken all reasonable steps to help staff to work from home, where this is possible
• Taken all reasonable steps to maintain a 2m distance between work stations and seating areas
• Provisions in place to ensure staff are able to clean their workstations/ desks at the beginning and end of each shift

If your area is not classed as ‘Covid Secure’ your line manager will work with you to  do everything practically possible to make the area secure.

If your office area cannot be made ‘Covid Secure’ then staff are required to wear a face mask in this area AT ALL TIMES.

Sub-clinical areas

RISK ASSESMENT AND PPE USE IN SUB-CLINICAL AREAS

Where staff need to meet in sub-clinical areas e.g. for handover and MDT meetings, in rooms with no direct patient contact that are within a clinical ward or department, the room must be assessed and the maximum occupancy based on 2M social distancing marked on the door. 

Where it is not possible to conduct usual business and remain socially distanced i.e. more people have to be in the room, managers are able to complete the following risk assessment (this needs to be done for each individual room):

Where the risk is calculated as low staff can use these rooms with the same precautions as used in other non-clinical areas that cannot be made fully COVID Secure through social distancing measures alone i.e. staff need to wear surgical face masks, clean their hands on entering and leaving and clean touchpoints and workstations. 

If the risk assessment indicates that the risk of COVID transmissions is high risk with these precautions the rooms can only be occupied with staff wearing full PPE; surgical face mask, gloves, apron and eye protection, if there are more staff than social distancing will allow.

Please could all managers of clinical services review the rooms in their areas which fall into this sub-clinical category and undertake the risk assessment based on how the room is used.

This will clarify to staff the level of PPE that needs to be worn if social distancing cannot be maintained.

Once your area is classed ‘Covid Secure’ you MUST download a Covid Secure Certificate and clearly display this in your office area: