Our response to Covid-19

Test and Trace Information Poster

To find out more about test and trace, download the Test and Trace Poster

The Federation launched the first COVID-19 specific ‘Hot Clinic’ in the country at the end March 2020.

These Clinics are specifically for patients showing some symptoms of COVID-19 – but who do not necessarily have the virus.

If a patient is telephone triaged and potentially demonstrate some symptoms of the virus but other symptoms that do not match the virus (and so could be due to another illness and not COVID-19) then they are asked to go to a ‘Hot Clinic’. At these clinics patients are asked to arrive at a certain time and wait in their car on the car park. The clinician will then phone them when they can enter the building and will see the patient.

All staff in these clinics have the highest level of PPE protection and there are higher levels of infection control with each room being cleaned after each patient and the clinician changing PPE after each patient. Hence the need to keep patients outside whilst they wait.

In addition, to setting up this Clinic, a few weeks later we also went live with our SATs Clinic. Run from the same site, COVID-19 patients, or those with symptoms, have their SATs monitored by professionals, but in a unique way. Patients are handed the equipment whilst they wait in their car and shown how to use it, providing the readings to the Nurse or Health Care Assistant present.

As with the Hot Clinic, the highest level of PPE protection is worn by staff and a more stringent level of infection control carried out, especially on the SATs machines after each use.

Both of these clinics are helping in the local fight against COVID-19 and can be replicated across the area if and when needed.

Here you can download the Hot Clinic Survey Results Summary document.