RepsDirect No 164 - 14 January 2003



From
Head of Health, Roger Spiller General Secretary, Roger Lyons

1 Consultation on Draft Guidance on Health Clearance for Serious Communicable Diseases: New Health Workers – for information

The Department of Health is currently consulting on the above draft guidance, which is available on their website at http//:www.doh.gov.uk/healthclear. Hard copies may be requested from the NHS Responseline 08701555455. The consultation is open until the end of April.

The summary states

"Ministers set up an expert group in 2001 to assess the potential health risks posed to patients from health care workers new to the NHS infected with serious communicable diseases, in particular HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and TB, and to report on options to minimise these risks. The measures proposed in this consultation document are based on the expert group’s recommendations, which ministers have accepted.

All new health care workers will need to have a standard health clearance for serious communicable diseases. Additional health clearance for blood-borne viruses will be needed for all new health care workers who will perform exposure prone procedures.

The new proposals are not intended to prevent those infected with blood-borne viruses from working in the NHS, but to restrict them from working in those clinical areas where their infection may pose a risk to patents in their care. This is consistent with existing policy, which imposes restrictions on the working practices of those health care workers known to be infectious carriers of HIV, Hepatitis B and hepatitis C."

Main Points:

All NHS Trusts and Primary Care Trusts must ensure that arrangements to implement the proposals are in place 4 months from the issue of the final version of the guidance.

All new health care workers must have a standard health check for serious communicable diseases. This includes:

Checks for TB disease / immunity;

Offer of hepatitis B immunisation, with post-immunisation testing of response;

In the context of reminding them of their professional responsibilities in relation to serious communicable diseases, the offer of testing for hepatitis C and HIV.

Additional health checks for serious communicable diseases must be provided for all new health care workers who will perform exposure prone procedures;

In addition to the above checks this will also include health checks to establish that they are not chronically infected with hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV.

New health care workers will include those returning to work in the NHS.

Exposure prone procedures are those invasive procedures where there is a risk that injury to the worker may result in the exposure of the patient’s open tissue to the blood of the worker.

Procedures where the hands and fingertips of the worker are visible and outside the patient’s body at all times, and internal examinations or procedures that do not involve possible injury to the worker’s gloved hands from sharp instruments and/or tissues are considered not to be exposure prone procedures, provided routine infection control procedures are adhered to.

Examples of procedures that are not exposure prone include;

Taking blood

Minor surface suturing

Incision of external abscesses

Routine vaginal or rectal examinations

Simple endoscopic procedures

Setting up / maintaining IV/ central lines. Providing any skin tunnelling procedure used is performed in a non-exposure prone manner.

Additional health clearance for serious communicable diseases is not required for nursing students.

It is required for midwifery training and those qualified nurses moving into training or posts in operating theatres and A&E.

Additional health clearance is also required for all dental students, including dental nurses / hygienists / therapists, paramedics, ambulance technicians and podiatrists.

Comments to be returned to Pat Jackson - Professional Officer for School Nursing and Public Health by end of March. It is preferred if responses are collective from Amicus rather than individuals.

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2 Professional Recruitment Adviser for Healthcare Scientists

From the Department of Health:

A national secondment opportunity is available from February 2003 to lead the implementation of the Recruitment, Retention and Return (R,R&R) strategy for healthcare scientists in the NHS outlined in HR in the NHS Plan and "Making the Change". We are looking to build on the pioneering work already done by Anthony Walsh, whose secondment will draw to a close at the end of March. We are looking for a 6 week overlap with Anthony if possible.

We envisage the secondment will be for 12-15 months - we welcome interest from full time staff, part time staff, jobsharers etc. The post can be based anywhere provided the secondee can travel regularly to London or Leeds and around England. We are looking for a senior manager in the NHS with a good understanding of the R, R&R agenda. Funding is available to support the secondment.

If you are interested please send your CV to Peter Grummitt by 31st January.

For further details or to talk about the secondment please contact:

Peter Grummitt [NHS Employment Branch] on 0113 254 6072 or

Anthony Walsh [NHS Employment Branch] on 07789 653141

Draft Objectives

Role Summary

To manage the implementation of the national R, R&R strategy for healthcare scientists and to contribute to the wider agenda of HRD.

Objectives/Responsibilities

  1. Identify the priority areas and develop implementation plan.
  2. Develop and implement communication strategy to ensure that all the relevant stakeholders/organisations are able to contribute to the evolving development of the strategy and/or are made aware of the progress being made.
  3. Brief Ministers and senior officers (orally and in writing) – contribute to wider HRD R,R&R agenda
  4. Liaise with Workforce Confederations, NHS Trusts/HAs/other organisations and ROs.
  5. Liaise with professional bodies, Trade Unions, trade press etc.
  6. Organise Healthcare Science Week in Nov 2003.
  7. Establish links with related projects eg. NHS Careers, NHS Professionals, etc.

Draft Job Spec

Essential skills needed:

Strategic outlook on the national HR agenda, allied to strong project management and the ability to juggle priorities.

Experience and up to date knowledge of NHS and wider HR issues

Experience of developing and implementing Communication strategies in large organisations

Written, oral and presentation skills

Working on one’s own whilst contributing to team working

IT skills (we use Lotus notes, Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc)

Desirable

A knowledge of the issues surrounding healthcare scientists

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