Hull’s hospitals have drawn up a plan to deal with significant surges in demand during the COVID-19 outbreak.

COVID-19 is expected to have a major impact on Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital over the coming weeks if national forecasts prove correct and thousands of patients with the virus require hospital admission.

However, staffing levels may fall at the same time as more NHS staff fall ill or have to self-isolate in line with national recommendations.

Now, Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (HUTH) has produced detailed plans of how it will keep essential services running  at the height of the outbreak in Hull and the East Riding.

Chief Operating Officer Teresa Cope said: “Members of the public should be reassured that we have been working on our Surge Plan for weeks to ensure the organisation has a robust and detailed strategy to do whatever we can to prevent our hospitals being overwhelmed by demand.

“We all know this is an unprecedented challenge for the entire NHS, not just us here in Hull and the East Riding, and there will undoubtedly be difficult times ahead.

“Although we have our plan in place and we are ready to act, the public has a major role to play in helping us all through this.

“Stay at home, follow the Government’s advice to maintain social distancing and only go outside for essential travel and we’ll be in a much stronger position to get through this and begin our recovery.”

As part of the trust’s Surge Plan

• Testing of staff or relevant family members showing symptoms of COVID-19 is being increased to ensure frontline staff can return to work as quickly as possible
• Routine outpatient appointments and operations have been cancelled
• 60 per cent of all our beds to be used for positive and suspected cases, with some wards changed from their usual specialties to accept patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19
• Specialist wards will be protected to care for patients with strokes, heart problems, brain injuries and illnesses and cancer throughout the outbreak
• Our plans would allow us to triple our critical care capacity
• Retired and former members of staff are being retrained and recruited
• Extra beds and equipment have been secured from the Spire Hospital in Anlaby
• Additional staff are being retrained and drafted in from other local NHS organisations
• Medical, nursing and clinical staff as well as non-clinical staff will be redeployed to support key frontline services

Training is also being introduced to ensure clinical staff have the required skills to support colleagues in priority areas such as the Emergency Department, Intensive Care and Medical wards where COVID-19 patients are being cohorted.

Teresa Cope said: “Each and every member of staff at the trust will be called on to go above and beyond our normal duties in the coming weeks and months.

“Regardless of our role in this organisation, we are all essential staff and we continue to turn up for  work, day in and day out.

“We know the NHS is asking a lot of staff, to come to work when everyone else is being asked to stay at home with their families to keep safe.

“We are equally grateful for the support of health and care partners during this time including Hull and East Riding of Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Groups, City Health Care Partnership, Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust and Yorkshire Ambulance Service. We’d also like to thank wider partners such as University of Hull, both Hull City and East Riding of Yorkshire Councils, local businesses which have been supporting us with equipment and donations for staff, care homes and GPs throughout East Yorkshire.

“By working together, we will get through this and provide the best possible care for our patients.”

A young boy from Hull is showing coronavirus and the NHS workers who are battling it that ‘he means business’.

Moved by recent events and aware just how hard NHS staff are working, seven-year-old Tommy Henry from north Hull decided to do something to show his support.

Tommy, who also has relatives working in healthcare, opted for a sponsored head shave. He then enlisted friends and family to help him raise money to buy treats and essentials for frontline NHS staff.

In a few hair-raising seconds, his locks were gone, but he’d managed to raise a whopping £130 to say thank you to the people, in his words, “protecting the people”.

Tommy’s mum, Nicole Henry, said:

“Tommy asked of his own accord to raise money to buy products for NHS staff. He said he wanted to shave his hair off because he ‘meant business’ and he said he wanted to help the people ‘protecting our people’.

“I am so proud of Tommy and his compassion for NHS staff at such a hard time.”

Tommy’s trolley-full of goods was recently delivered to staff working in Hull Royal Infirmary’s Emergency Department.

Hospital staff are really grateful to Tommy

Sister, Emma Jones, said:

“All the nursing and medical team in the Emergency Department want to say a big thank you to Tommy for his kind gesture. We think he was really brave to shave his hair off!

“It’s great to know that we have so much support from the public during these unprecedented times.

“Tommy has brought a smile to everyone’s face. Thank you Tommy, you’re our little hero!”

Bare fruit bowls and empty salad drawers should be a thing of the past for many healthcare workers thanks to a special, six-tonne food parcel!

An articulated lorry load of fresh fruit and vegetables was delivered for staff at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust this week as a gesture of thanks during the current coronavirus outbreak.

The delivery of the produce, which ranged from mushrooms to pineapples, was organised by the Tigers Trust and His Church, and was shared between the trust’s two hospital sites; Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham.

The Tigers Trust is a community group, based at the KCOM Stadium who look to engage and improve communities through sport, active participation and education. His Church Charity specialises in providing secure, ethical and sustainable charitable solutions for residual stock, including food, clothing, toys and supplies.

Simon Nearney, Director of Workforce for Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said:

“We are completely overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity shown to us by the Tigers Trust and His Church.

“Our staff are working extremely hard at the moment, and it isn’t always easy for them to get out to the shops or to source the fresh food they need to keep themselves and their families going. Receiving donations of this kind shows them that their work really is appreciated.

“So many staff have benefited from this thoughtful gesture, and we would like to thank both organisations for thinking of us during this difficult time.”

An East Yorkshire surgeon is urging those spending time at home due to coronavirus to take extra care to avoid accidents or injury.

Miss Elizabeth Moulder, orthopaedic surgeon with Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, says more time at home due to self isolation, distance working and school closures could see the number of injuries related to home improvement, outdoor play, or even trips and falls soar.

Orthopaedic surgeon, Elizabeth Moulder

And while urgent health needs and emergencies will be treated promptly, efforts to bolster the trust’s coronavirus response mean some specialties, such as orthopaedic surgery, will be operating at a reduced capacity.

Miss Moulder explains:

“Many children are enjoying more time at home, but with this comes an increased risk of injury as children spend more time playing outdoors on trampolines, scooters, bikes and so on.

“The coronavirus outbreak has seen a huge reduction in the number of people attending A&E and our fracture clinic, and we are grateful for people’s cooperation in staying at home, but in one morning fracture clinic this week, half of all the fractures we treated were as a result of children playing on trampolines*.

“Roads are quieter and in recent weeks, we’ve enjoyed a bit more sunshine; these factors could tempt more people into jumping on the motorbike or driving more quickly than normal, increasing their risk of a road traffic accident or collision.

The DIY can wait!

“With more people spending time at home, people could even start turning their hand to the DIY or home improvement jobs they’ve been meaning to get round to for a while. Ladders, steps, cables and power tools are all potentially dangerous at the best of times, so we would really urge people not to take unnecessary risks and to delay any jobs which could wait.

“At this time, our hospitals are rightly gearing up for the coronavirus effort. Routine surgery has already been cancelled and going forward we will not have the resources to provide our normal high level of service within orthopaedics, as specialist staff such as anaesthetists and theatre nurses will be required to help in other areas such as intensive care.

“Nationally and locally, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases is on the rise. To limit the spread of the virus and reduce the risk to our patients, the public and our staff, we need to minimise the number of people in and around Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill as far as possible.

Trampoline injuries are increasingly common

“Hospital staff are working incredibly hard in difficult circumstances, and we have already been overwhelmed by the amount of public support we’ve seen so far. By taking basic precautions while at home – by not going up ladders unnecessarily, by wearing cycle helmets or by limiting trampolines to one child at a time, for example – everyone can help reduce their own risk and reduce pressures on our health services at an extraordinary time for all of us.”

* The average number of clinic attendances averages around 30 people. Tuesday morning’s clinic (31 March) saw six patients, of whom three were patients with fractures associated with play on trampolines.

Chris Long, Chief Executive of Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “Sadly, we can confirm that a man has died at Castle Hill Hospital after testing positive for COVID-19.

“The man, who was in his 60s, had underlying health conditions.

“We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to his family as they cope with the loss of their loved one and request that the media respect their wishes for privacy at this very difficult and distressing time.”

– YOUR NHS NEEDS YOU…

They’ve been on the frontline of the COVID-19 outbreak for almost two months.

From wearing the right Personal Protection Equipment to keeping a safe two metres between us, when the Infectious Diseases team at Castle Hill Hospital talk, we need to listen.

Now, Physician Associate Mike Moore has gathered vital advice and guidance from the team from Ward 7 – their tips for what we should be listening to, reading, watching and doing if you need to self-isolate.

WE’RE ALL EARS

Fleetwood Mac – Rumours

The Cure – Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me

A Day To Remember

The Shins – Chutes Too Narrow

Google/Alexa playlist

Manu Chao

Elder Island

Kanyaga Tanzanian

Red Hot Chilli Peppers

Muse

Radiohead

WATCH WITH MOTHER (UNLESS SHE’S OVER 70 OR HAS AN UNDERLYING HEALTH CONDITION)

12 Angry Men

You (Netflix)

Picard (Amazon Prime)

Mad Men

The Stranger (Netflix)

Safe (Netflix)

Haunting of Hill House (Netflix)

A Quiet Place

House of Cards (US)

Utopia

Chernobyl

Noughts and Crosses

Birdbox

Munna Bhai MBBS

3 Idiots

The Wire

READING BETWEEN THE LINES

Plato’s Republic

A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin

Microbe Hunters by Paul De Kruif

Player of Games by Iain M Banks

Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

Normal People by Sally Rooney

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

KEEP ON MOVIN’

Pandemic – board game or app

Decorating

Housework

Dobble (board game)

Pictionary Air

Learn a new language

Puzzles

Weight lifting

Paint by numbers

Teach yourself pottery

30 day press-up challenge

Tara Styles – Bed Yoga

Restrictions are being introduced at Hull’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) today to protect Hull’s most vulnerable babies from COVID-19.

Staff at the NICU are taking the steps to ensure the babies on the unit are shielded as much as possible from the dangers of the virus.

From today (Tuesday), just one parent will be able to visit the unit for the duration of the baby’s stay, unless their child is critically ill.  If two parents are able to visit because their child is critically ill or receiving end-of-life care, just one will be allowed by their baby’s cot at a time.

NICU staff are also working to set up a video link for parents where they can see their babies through a password-protected app.

Visiting parents will be allocated visiting times to ensure they are at a safe distance apart of at least two metres.

Only parents staying on the unit with their critically ill baby will be able to use the family kitchen with just one visitor allowed in at a time to maintain the two-metre isolation rule.

No visitors will be allowed for mothers and babies on Transitional Care in line with the policy for the rest of Hull Women and Children’s Hospital.

Consultant Neonataologist Joanna Preece said: “We know how difficult this will be for families but they would expect us to do everything in our power to protect their babies and to maintain staffing levels to deliver this care.

“Our priority must be the babies in our care and taking these steps will ensure we are doing everything possible to reduce the risk of the virus being spread in the unit.”

NICU Manager Kate Lamming said: “I have written a letter for all parents to explain we have their babies’ best interests at heart. We are taking these steps to protect their babies, the staff who are caring for their babies and the parents themselves.

“We are very grateful for their understanding of the need to take these difficult steps.”

They were called on to step up to the plate as Hull’s hospitals prepared for the COVID-19 outbreak.

And staff on Ward 1 at Hull Royal Infirmary set aside their own concerns to be there for patients.

Since the beginning of March, Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has been working round the clock so Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital can provide the best possible care for people with the signs of COVID-19.

Changing Ward 1 from an acute medicine rapid discharge ward to a ward looking after people with suspected COVID-19 until the results of their screening tests are known was one of the first steps as preparations ramped up.

Julia Denley, Senior Matron in Acute Medicine, said: “I am tremendously proud of the staff on Ward 1. They took the challenge in their stride.

“Although initially anxious for their own safety and that of their families, they have followed all the advice from the infection control, arrived every day and night for their shifts and worked tirelessly as a team supporting not only themselves but the patients and relatives who have been anxiously awaiting the results.

“Their team spirit and tenacity to get a job done well has blown me away.”

Staff at both hospitals have been volunteering their services as the trust prepares to admit patients with COVID-19. While the vast majority of people who contract the disease will experience only mild or moderate symptoms, a small proportion will require hospital care.

With non-urgent operations and outpatient appointments cancelled last week, teams from these areas are undergoing retraining to be redeployed to other parts of the hospitals to assist frontline staff.

People have been seconded from their normal day-to-day jobs to coordinate the trust’s response to the outbreak.

From porters, housekeepers, estates, admin and support staff to nursing and midwifery teams, consultants, theatre staff doctors and allied health professionals, every department in the trust is assisting senior management planning and coping for COVID-19.

Chief Operating Officer Teresa Cope said: “I have never been more proud to work for the NHS. What I have seen over these past few weeks has given me confidence that our trust and our 9,000 staff are ready to help the people of Hull and the East Riding.

“We will do what it takes. We have the plans in place and our staff are already working above and beyond.

“We are in it together and people should be assured that our staff will do whatever they need to do to get us through this, however long it takes.”