From today (Thursday), staff across South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust will wear facemasks across the trust’s hospitals and community facilities.
Patients, visitors and carers will also be urged to help stop the spread of germs by wearing a facemask when they are on trust sites and making sure they clean their hands when they enter and leave.
The trust is bringing forward its winter plans early after seeing an 80% rise in the number of people in hospital with respiratory illness in the space of a week.
The rise in winter viruses circulating in the community has also affected NHS staff. The measures apply across all the trust’s hospitals and key community sites, including:
- South Tyneside District Hospital
- Sunderland Royal Hospital
- Sunderland Specialist Eye Hospital
- Durham Treatment Centre
- Houghton Intermediate Care Assessment and Rehabilitation (ICAR)
- St Benedict’s Hospice
- Palmer Community Hospital
- Sunderland Children’s Centre
Community staff visiting patients in their homes, care homes and other settings, such as schools, will also wear face masks as part of the enhanced measures.
Dr Shaz Wahid, Executive Medical Director at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are already seeing an increase in respiratory viruses across our hospitals and community services and are taking action now to help reduce the spread of infection.
“When we introduced these measures last winter, they were very effective and that is why we are taking even earlier steps this year to protect as many people as we can and make sure our services can run effectively.
“Many of the people we care for are more vulnerable to serious illness, including older people, people with long-term health conditions and those whose health is already compromised.
“We also want to protect our staff, their loved ones and everyone who comes into our hospitals and community services. By taking simple steps together, we can reduce the risks and help keep people safe.”
Alongside face mask wearing, the trust is also relaunching its Clean Hands campaign, reminding everyone that every action counts in preventing the spread of infection. Patients, visitors and staff are encouraged to:
- Wear face masks correctly
- Clean their hands regularly
- Follow good cough and sneeze etiquette
- Have any flu or winter vaccines they are eligible for
- Avoid visiting loved ones in hospital if they are feeling unwell
Dr Wahid added: “Hand hygiene remains one of the simplest and most effective ways to stop infections spreading. We have hand hygiene stations throughout our sites and encourage everyone to clean their hands when entering and leaving our buildings.
“We really appreciate the support of our staff, patients and visitors as we take these steps to protect each other during the winter months.”
The trust will continue to monitor respiratory virus activity and keep its infection prevention and control measures under regular review.
For more information about the trust’s winter infection prevention measures, visit this page on its site: Infection Control
