Agenda item

Coronavirus (Covid-19) - Urgent Item

Minutes:

The Principal Public Health Specialist introduced the urgent item on Coronavirus (Covid-19).  She stated that there were now a number of Coronavirus cases in the UK and there had been some reports the previous day of cases in the West Midlands.  Within Wolverhampton there was a key Multi-Agency Group consisting of the Local Authority, The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, the CCG and Public Health England.  Regular communications were taking place.  Covid-19 was also a regular item on the Council’s, Strategic Executive Board (SEB) and there was a tactical co-ordination group that was below SEB. 

 

The Principal Public Health Specialist stated that, The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust had setup a Pod service where patients could be tested at New Cross Hospital away from the Emergency Department.  A Community swabbing service had also been setup that was testing people with suspected cases at home.  They were moving forward with plans for maintaining these services in the long-term.  They were looking at setting up drive through swabbing services to be available from the following week.  This would take some of the pressure off the Trust so they could prepare for increased Covid-19 cases.  Internally at the Council all of their guidance and communications were coming from Public Health England.  This was the same for the rest of the country.

 

The Principal Public Health Specialist remarked that the country was currently in the containment phase.  It was a new virus to humans and evolving.  It appeared to be similar to seasonal flu and so they could use their pandemic flu plans to help provide them with a baseline for preparedness.  They were in regular contact with NHS England and Public Health England.  The key message to residents at the present time was practicing good hygiene and the “Catch It, Bin It, Kill It” campaign. 

 

The Chief Executive of The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust stated that the messages were being carefully controlled by Public Health England, so they were somewhat limited as to what they could do and say.  He was sceptical about the effectiveness of the Pod system.  New Cross Hospital had 127 entrances and people would not find their way to the Pods, without walking through large sections of the hospital, irrespective of good signage.  He was procuring considerable building work in the Accident and Emergency Department, as they did not have enough places to isolate patients.  This was not unique to New Cross Hospital, no Accident and Emergency Department in the country had enough isolation areas. 

 

The Chief Executive of The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust remarked that he was now applying the principle of “Plan for the Worst and Hope for the Best.”  Over the next two to three weeks he would be planning for the worst.  The modelling that he had seen had led him to the conclusion that the situation was going to be awful.  A major concern was that there was not enough ventilator capacity to cope with the expected numbers.  This would mean applying what used to be referred to as “Three Wise Men System,” to decide who would receive treatment and who did not.  His second major concern was regarding staffing.  If schools and colleges were closed, as had happened in Italy, it would cause staffing issues.  He would not be able to setup a temporary creche facility as he ordinarily would for a situation such as heavy snow.  He was working on the assumption that 20% of the Trust’s staff would not be able to attend work at anyone time.  Elective surgery during the height of the crisis would all be postponed, which would also cause its own problems.  The Chief Medical Officer at the Select Committee earlier in the day had as good as indicated that the containment phase was coming to an end. 

 

The Director for Adult Services commented that a large proportion of the people dealt with in social care were at a higher risk if they contracted the virus.  They were working close with Public Health Colleagues and the NHS to think about different ways of managing them to reduce their risk of becoming infected with the virus.  They were contingency planning as many social care staffed worked around school hours.        

 

The Principal Public Health Specialist commented that there were no confirmed cases of Covid-19 at the present time in Wolverhampton.  Nationally NHS 111 were taking calls from people that suspected they may have caught the virus and confirmed cases were being managed by Public Health England.  They had strict guidance about self-isolation which applied to people who had travelled to certain places abroad and whether they were exhibiting any symptoms.  She believed that many people would be able to self-care at home if they caught the virus.  She thought many of the symptoms were similar to seasonal flu.  It appeared that older people were much more vulnerable to the virus than children and younger people.  There was no vaccine currently available. 

 

A Panel Member commented that the Chinese had been picking up two strains of the virus, one which was mild and one which was aggressive. 

 

The Chairman thanked everyone for their contribution to the urgent item.