Coronavirus (Covid-19) update: 24.03.20, 14:58hrs

General

• Following the latest instruction from the Prime Minister, the CCG is on lockdown in terms of a physical presence at Spencer Close in Epping until further notice
• Remote working is now the norm, so please make sure you stay in touch with your line manager regularly to discuss work and your own health and wellbeing
• Post – we are still sorting incoming post. Jackie Hall will be in touch if anything needs your attention
• For those of you who have volunteered to support other frontline services, we will be in touch so please bear with us

Employee communications

• Regular updates – we will be issuing daily email bulletins and are setting up a dedicated Covid-19 staff email address
• Staff newsletter – the weekly staff newsletter is temporarily on hold. If there’s anything (work related) you’d like to share with colleagues, please contact the Communications team
• All staff briefings – we are in the process of arranging regular staff briefings (via conference call), so you’ll be able to dial-in and keep up-to-date with the latest news and information – watch this space

IT

• Windows 10 migration – following the latest government advice, we’ve decided to pause the Windows 10 rollout to staff. It will resume in due course, so please keep an eye out for further communications
• Working from home – as per previous advice, work offline as much as possible. Only go online when absolutely necessary, as this will help reduce the strain on the system. NHSmail and Outlook will work offline. Only use the VPN when accessing files or folders on the shared drives
• Help and support – if you experience any VPN or access issues, please contact the IT Helpdesk (between 7am and 7pm) on 0300 123 1020. As you can imagine, they are experiencing a very high volume of calls at the moment, so please be patient

HR

• Sickness – if you fall ill, please report this in the normal way. You can also check out the HR frequently asked questions on AskHUE
• Employee Assistance Programme helpline – at this challenging and worrying time, we appreciate you may need additional personal support and guidance. Other than speaking to your line manager, as part of our HR service, you also have access to a freephone helpline 24 hours a day. Call 0800 328 1437 if you need confidential support, counselling and advice. You can also visit the Employee Assistance website for more information. Your login access code is: WestEssex
• Annual leave carryover – look out for more information from HR coming soon

Further advice and support

• Our intranet AskHUE – check out the most up-to-date advice and information for staff on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
• NHS website – for information on the virus and how to prevent it spreading
• GOV.UK website – full guidance on staying at home (self-isolation)and away from others

Finally, we wanted to share a really lovely message Debra Smith received from one of our suppliers when ordering some things for the office – see below…
“We are so lucky to have an amazing NHS and it’s thanks to yourself and your colleagues!”

We hope you are OK, along with your family and loved ones, and thank you again for your ongoing help and support.

We will continue to keep you updated and will be in touch soon.