Trusts handed new rules to ‘minimise’ contacts between staff

NHS England issued new guidance on minimising healthcare-associated covid-19 infections today after health secretary Matt Hancock announced that hospital staff were to wear surgical masks at all times to prevent them infecting colleagues and patients.

There is concern about hospitals and other health settings propelling ongoing virus outbreaks in some areas — Weston-super-Mare and Northamptonshire in particular have seen ongoing cases, hospitalisation and death, though the causes of this remain unclear.

The guidance says NHS organisations should ensure staff adhere to two-metre social distancing wherever possible in non-clinical areas, as well as staggering breaks and moving to virtual team meetings.

A letter sent by NHSE chief operating officer Amanda Pritchard, chief nursing officer Ruth May and medical director Stephen Powis also reiterates that staff should follow test and trace self-isolation rules, and trusts should routinely test asymptomatic frontline staff.

The letter, sent to all trust chiefs, clinical commissioning group chiefs, and primary care leaders says consistent implementation of national infection control guidance “will be paramount in reducing healthcare associated infections”.

“This includes all staff adhering to social distancing (two metres) wherever possible in non-clinical areas,” the letter says.

“Close contact between staff over prolonged periods should be minimised; for example, by avoiding congregating at central work stations, restricting the number of staff on ward rounds, conducting handover sessions in a setting where there is space for social distancing, moving to ‘virtual’ multidisciplinary team meetings, and considering staggering staff breaks to limit the density of healthcare workers in specific areas.”

Multiple NHS chief executives complained about Mr Hancock’s announcement on surgical masks on Friday, and NHS Providers said it came “with little or no consultation with the NHS frontline and without a plan in place to ensure that all trusts will have access to adequate supplies of type one and two masks”.

NHS Providers director of policy and strategy Miriam Deakin said:“It’s important that frontline leaders expected to implement national guidance are consulted and given some prior warning so they can plan properly.

“The need to continue to enforce social distancing and enhanced infection control measures is also a perfect illustration of the capacity challenges some trusts are facing as they resume non-covid services.

“Everyone needs to be realistic about how quickly and to what extent the NHS can revert to delivering services at the same level as before the pandemic as we develop a ‘new normal’.