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FOI Request

Disclosure ID
FOI/03765
Request Date
June 8, 2020
Subject
BAME Staff Risk Assessment
Description

Q1. Please state (yes or no) whether your trust has carried out a risk-assessment of staff at potentially greater risk of COVID-19, including people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds. [If answer to Q1 is yes, please answer questions 2-5

Q2. Please state when this risk assessment was carried out.

Q3. Please provide a short summary of what the risk assessment entailed.

Q4. Please provide a copy of the findings of the risk assessment.

Q5. Please list and provide brief details of any measures that your trust has subsequently put in place to offer protection to staff who are at higher risk from COVID-19.

Response

1.Yes

2.This is an ongoing process with communications being sent to all staff in April advising of the new guidance, followed by a revised Risk Assessment which was communicated out to all staff and again to managers in May 2020.

3.Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is committed to ensuring the health, safety and wellbeing of all its staff, colleagues and patients at all times. The Trust has written individually to our BAME workforce and set out our support in this regard, including their inclusion into the vulnerable staff group, along with colleagues who are pregnant or who have underlying health conditions. We can confirm that COVID risk assessments have been conducted with individuals and their line managers with escalation and support from Occupational Health in relation to appropriate redeployment and or occupational adjustments as required on a case by case basis. This was then followed up with a Trust wide communication to all members of staff.

The Trust has advised and in line with Government guidelines, if a member of staff is able to undertake their duties from home, they should do so. For those members of staff that are unable to work from home, the Trust has also implemented the following precautions that are put in place to protect staff once they have been risk assessed;
• Redeployment to lower risk area
• Limit duration of close interaction with patient (e.g. prepare everything in advance away from patient)
• Wherever possible maintain >2m distance from the patient
• Asking patients to wear mask for staff member interactions.
• Provide surgical mask for staff member for all interactions with patients or specimens
• The staff member will wear FFP3 in the area for 20 minutes where Aerosol Generating Procedure (AGP) is undertaken on suspected/ confirmed COVID patient
• The staff member will leave the area for 20 minutes when AGP is undertaken on suspected/ confirmed COVID patient
• Whether public transport / rush hour can be avoided through adjustments to work hours.
• Remote working if the staff member is enabled including access to equipment and Wi-Fi or access has been requested from IT

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