Staff briefing roundup

West Essex CCG has made a pledge to an organisation called Time to Change to be part of a movement which commits to breaking down stigma against mental ill health and supporting the wellbeing of staff.
This is an initiative driven by the Staff Partnership Group – fully supported by the Executive team – view full PowerPoint presentation

NHS alert remains at level 3. The Government’s alert is at level 4 which means COVID-19 is in general circulation in the community but transmission is high and rising quickly
The ‘R’ rate in the East of England is between 1.0– 1.3, compared to the UK which is 1.3 – 1.6
The Rule of Six still applies in England but pubs and restaurants need to close at 10pm
The number of cases detected by testing in the last two weeks is 12,594 in the UK on 5 October, with a seven day average of 10,937 on 2 October (up from 2,600 on 11 September)
The total number of patients admitted to hospital has increased to 2,593 in England on 5 October, with daily deaths rising slightly to 19 on 5 October
The Office for National Statistics survey estimated higher rates in the North West, Yorkshire, Humber, London and North East.
Detected cases continue to be highest in the 20-29 age groups, but levels have increased in the 10-19 age group.
Areas of concern to Essex are the Greater London boroughs.

Six care homes with patients who have tested positive, but care homes are much more controlled than they were during the first wave
Met with EPUT Chief Executive Paul Scott – who is delighted to start and is very much committed to bring all of our visions to life
St Clare Hospice is holding two open hospice events via Zoom this evening (Tuesday 7 October) and tomorrow afternoon (Wednesday 8 October)
All districts in Essex have had positive cases in the last 14 days
Total positive cases in Epping Forest in the last 14 days was 134. Epping Forest has the highest rate of positive cases per 100,000 population (102 per 100,000)
Harlow has had 53 positive tests and Uttlesford, 85. In Essex in total the number of positive tests is 1,065

Flu jabs – The staff flu clinic this Friday is now fully booked. Thanks to everyone who has booked. If you were not able to book but wanted to have the jab, please contact Ian.
For those who have booked, please complete a consent form before arriving for your appointment. If you haven’t got a printer at home don’t worry. We will print some out here and have them on site so you can complete them when you get here.
Please make sure you arrive no more than five minutes before your appointment time to enable social distancing at Spencer Close. Please do consider the offer of a flu jab carefully.
Antibody testing for staff will stop from this Friday as demand for it has dropped significantly.
COVID testing for critical key workers will continue at Spencer Close for the next few weeks.
The virtual staff quiz was great. Competition was tough and Smarty Pints gave Quaranteam a good run for their money this time, but Quaranteam won in the end. Again. Thanks to Rob and Peter who put together a fun quiz and to the teams that took part. Thanks also to Steff in Comms who worked hard to put it together.

It’s Black History Month this month and the Comms team want to hear from you about what Black History Month means to you and if you have any stories to share. The Comms team is also looking for some traditional recipes that everyone can have a go at. Watch this space…

Q: Will the GP practices be informed if staff have had their flu vaccine?

A: Colleagues are asked to inform their own GP that they have received their flu vaccination.