Yes, if possible. In the first instance, employers should make every effort to support working from home, including by providing suitable IT and equipment as they have been already.
Sometimes this will not be possible, as not everyone can work from home. Certain jobs require people to travel to their place of work – for instance if they operate machinery, work in construction or manufacturing, or are delivering front line services.
Tailored guidelines have been set out for employers to help protect their workforce and customers secure guidelines.
If you cannot work from home then you can still travel to work, provided you are well and neither you, nor any of your household are self-isolating. This is consistent with advice from the Chief Medical Officer.
Employers who have people in their offices or onsite should ensure that employees are able to follow Public Health England guidelines including, where possible, maintaining a 2 metre distance from others and washing their hands.
More information is available here.
Face coverings are not compulsory. However, if you can, people are advised to wear face coverings in enclosed public spaces where social distancing is not possible, or where you are more likely to come into contact with people you do not normally meet, eg. on public transport or in some shops. Face coverings can help us protect each other and reduce the spread of the disease if you are suffering from coronavirus, but not showing symptoms.
A face covering is not the same as the surgical masks or respirators used as part of personal protective equipment by healthcare and other workers - these should continue to be reserved for those who need them to protect against risks in their workplace such as health and care workers.
At present, there are comprehensive supplies in all the main hospitals, and I am in regular contact with our local hospitals (including West Berkshire Community Hospital, the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, and the Great Western Hospital in Swindon) to ensure that the levels of PPE are sufficient to protect staff and patients.
At the time of writing – 2 April 2020, and updated on 20 May 2020 – I have also had it confirmed that social care providers across West Berkshire have received sufficient PPE orders.
I am working to ensure that stocks remain at adequate levels in anticipation of a spike in demand in the coming weeks.
I am also talking to the Department of Health and Social Care about the supply of PPE to other frontline care providers, so that as the Government is able to access greater number of PPE, all essential frontline services will have sufficient access to PPE.
The NHS has written to everyone considered to be extremely vulnerable and at high risk of severe illness if they catch the coronavirus, due to their medical status. They must stay at home at all times and avoid all face-to-face contact for at least 12 weeks, except from their carer and healthcare workers continuing to provide essential medical care. This is called ‘shielding’ and there is support for anyone in this situation who needs it – call 0800 028 8327 or register here.
If you have not received a letter yet, contact your GP after you have registered with this service. It may take time for any support offered through this service to arrive so, wherever possible, you should continue to rely on friends, family and wider support to help you meet your needs.
A new Local Support System in England will make sure those individuals that have been identified by the NHS to stay at home, and who are without a support network of friends and family, will receive basic groceries and medicine.
You can also contact West Berkshire Council Community Support Hub for advice and support: westberksbct@westberks.gov.uk and 01635 503579, along with NHS Volunteer Responders: https://volunteering.royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk/nhs-volunteer-responders-portal/isolating and 0808 196 3646.
Full details of who falls into the extremely vulnerable group can be found here.
To register as a vulnerable person, please complete the form found in this link.
If you believe you are vulnerable, and need help with local supplies, please contact the West Berkshire Council Community Support Hub for assistance with food and medicine deliveries. Their email address is westberksbct@westberks.gov.uk and the direct line is 01635 503579.
There are 3 urgent care hubs in Berkshire. To secure an appointment, you should contact your own dentist initially for a telephone consultation. All practices should be providing this. If necessary, the dentist will contact one of the hubs or get the patient to contact 111 if they think the patient needs to be seen face to face.
People who do not have a dentist should contact 111 and they will be triaged and either given advice or referred to one of the urgent care hubs.
Face to face patient contact is a last resort, as it takes 3 sets of PPE to treat each patient. All non-urgent cases will be delayed where possible.
The advice for those aged 70 and over continues to be that they should take particular care to minimise contact with others outside their household. If they do go out more frequently, they should continue to comply with any general social distancing restrictions. There are no specific additional rules that apply to them unless they also have an underlying health condition and have been advised to shield.
Anyone who has been advised to shield by the NHS or their GP should continue to do this until at least the end of June. The guidance to shielded people is being kept under review and there is a support scheme in place to provide help with access to food and basic supplies, care, medicines and social support. You can find support from:
West Berkshire Community Support Hub westberksbct@westberks.gov.uk and 01635 503579
NHS Volunteer Responders https://volunteering.royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk/nhs-volunteer-responders-portal/isolating and 0808 196 3646
Testing has been expanded to all NHS and social care staff, care home residents, anyone over the age of 65 and anyone who must leave the house for work, and all of their households, if they are symptomatic. You can apply here https://www.gov.uk/apply-coronavirus-test
Employers can also register self-isolating staff on their behalf.
Test results from the drive-through sites will be sent out by text within 48 hours, and within 72 hours of collection of the home delivery tests.
