Staff briefing roundup

Here’s a summary of what was covered in today’s staff briefing…

Rob Gerlis

Public board meeting took place last week
A patient joined and shared a story about his positive experiences of healthcare in west Essex
The independent chair of the Integrated Care System attended
We plan to live stream the next board meeting
Last week’s recording will soon be available on our website
Cycle to work scheme – we can confirm the CCG is now a member of the scheme – details to be published on AskHUE

Medicines management team has been supporting the development on clinical guidelines monitoring medicines that couldn’t been done before but now can
Supporting practices on electronic repeat dispensing, so that patients don’t have to visit the GP
Priority is supporting the care homes – there is a pharmacist aligned to every care home
Hot hubs – have been fairly quiet, if there is a second wave we will be better prepared to see patients with and without COVID symptoms separately
It is going to be a process of a gradual move to a new normal rather than a ‘return to normal’
There will more virtual consultations – which may take some getting used to for some patients

For the CCG externally and internally – it will be a process of a ‘restart’ and ‘rethink’ rather than ‘return to normal’
We are working on designs to get these rethink/restart messages across

Return to CCG

We are still following government advice to work from home unless you cannot work from home
We continue following government, and health and safety guidance on how, when and if people return to work in the office
We have started detailed risk assessments of the building and will be carrying out individual working from home assessments
Health and safety lead for Princess Alexandra Hospital has completed a risk assessment of the CCG site
We will only consider bringing staff back to the Spencer Close when it is safe to do so – currently it is not
We need to install hand sanitisers, wipes, perspex screen – these are in high demand
Everyone needs to declutter once it’s safe to return
Clean desk policy will be introduced – there will be a removal of clutter and some personal items
Need to think about where to store stuff, whether we actually need things and doing things more electronically
When we return we will only have limited numbers at the CCG at once
Staff will not be able to sit opposite each other

Staff questionnaire

So far, we have had 124 responses
The information collected within the survey will not be shared and remains confidential, and will only be looked at by Jeneva Allison, our HR Business Partner and the HR team
Any follow ups will be completed by line managers if need be – this will help inform our risk assessment

Testing

Government has purchased £10 million test services
Five suppliers are involved nationally
Only 2/5 have been officially validated by Public Health England
Work is in progress for other three to be validated
120,000 antibody tests to be completed by end of June. These will be prioritised for NHS staff and those who work on NHS premises
The test will show if you have had it but doesn’t show if you are immune
Normal COVID testing still ongoing – please visit gov.uk

Schools

We are likely to hear more about a return to school for children later this week although some schools have said they won’t open

Volunteers’ week is next week (1-7 June) – we would like to share some case studies – if you have done any volunteering (formal and/or informal), we would love you to share your experiences. Please email the Comms team
Kate Brown shared a lovely story about an elderly couple who, aged 86 and 92 do their own shopping and go for long walks, with a view to doing a charity walk in September.