Following on from the Government guidance regarding the use of face masks within healthcare settings, that are not Covid-19 secure, from Monday 15 June, staff will be required to wear a face mask in all of our settings – these will be provided to you and will be in place when you arrive at your base on Monday.
The masks will be type 11R surgical masks – face coverings are not considered to be acceptable substitutes for staff.
· If you work in a clinical area: You should continue to follow the PPE guidance – however, you should now wear your mask during your breaks. A clean mask should be applied on your return to your clinical area.
· If you are working in a non-clinical area: If you can do your role from home, then you must continue to do so. If you do need to come onto site, you must ensure that you are wearing a mask.
This isn’t a decision that has been taken lightly, but our priority is to ensure your safety. There is a piece of work which is currently ongoing, led by Estates and Facilities, which is risk assessing all of our buildings and building an action plan to make them Covid Secure. It may be possible then that we will be able to relax the guidance on masks slightly.
We will continue to review this as more detail about the implementation of this change is known, including more information about the approach to Covid Secure. Any changes will be communicated via our Covid bulletin.
Further advice
When eating or drinking, you should maintain social distancing rules and remove your mask, dispose in bins with orange bags (these will be delivered to all sites by Monday), and wash your hands for 20 seconds/use alcohol hand rub to sanitise your hands prior to eating. Do not place the face mask on dining tables or nearby surfaces. Once you have finished eating/drinking, you should sanitise your hands again and put on a new facemask to return to your workplace.
If you are working alone you will not be expected to wear a mask, but when you leave your private work area or move through the building e.g. on an errand, or for meal breaks, you will need to put on a surgical face mask. If you share a workspace with others, you must still wear a surgical face mask unless a formal risk assessment has been carried out and you are advised this is not necessary.
At the end of your shift you should again dispose of the face mask in the orange bags and sanitise your hands before leaving. If you have a long term health problem, difficulties breathing, or severe claustrophobia, please discuss this with your line manager and HR who will provide individual advice.