Today’s staff update is below:
- Face masks
- SIREN study – be part of COVID research
- Covid Heroes
Face masks
ALL staff are reminded that they MUST wear a surgical mask in all public areas of the hospitals and Trust buildings.
This includes; on corridors, in staff rooms and departments where social distance guidelines cannot be met (2 metres apart in NHS environments).
Additional PPE requirements apply to clinical areas and when providing direct care to patients – please refer to https://covid.sthk.nhs.uk/what-to-wear-and-when/ for further details.
Staff must ensure that the masks fully cover their nose and mouth, DO NOT have the mask below the nose, below the chin, or hanging from the ear.
Removed masks must be disposed of in bins with orange waste bags.
Remember to clean your hands before putting a mask on and after removing a mask.
It is vital for the safety of your colleagues and patients that masks are worn and disposed of correctly.
SIREN study – be part of COVID research
The Trust has already recruited over 100 members of staff to the SIREN research study and you can be part of it too.
SIREN (SARS-COV2 Immunity and Reinfection Evaluation) is an important research study on behalf of Public Health England that aims to understand whether prior infection with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID -19) protects against future infection with the same virus.
All staff are eligible to take part in this important study which runs over 1 year.
If you take part, you will be required to complete a registration questionnaire and provide an updated symptom review, nose and throat swabs, blood samples regularly (usually once every 2 or 4 weeks) for up to 12 months.
For further information, please contact our research team at: research@sthk.nhs.uk
NHS Covid Heroes
Today’s heroes are our wonderful students.
In April, student placements were withdrawn nationally with students given the option of suspending their studies or volunteering to work in the NHS.
Over 250 nursing, midwifery, medical and therapy students requested to work at STHK and boy did they rise to the challenge!
Joining our staff on the frontline, they provided care to patients across our hospitals, with extremely positive feedback from wards and departments for the levels of professionalism they have shown.
They are a shining example of the next generation of practitioners. Thank you for your selflessness and commitment to providing the very best care to our patients.
