Dear Colleagues,
The past six weeks of COVID-19 induced lockdown has been a difficult time for many of us. Our lives continue to be hugely restricted by the lockdown, and our work is dominated by the spread of coronavirus, especially frontline healthcare professionals in hospitals, GP practices and care homes.
I have reached out to our sister organisations in the UK through their presidents, including Princess Wendy Odutola, President of the Nigerian Nurses Charity Association UK (NNCAUK) and Dr Chyke Ohuegbe, President of the Nigerian Radiographers in Diaspora (NIRAD) to get a feel of concerns of their members. The common theme is about safety in our working environment and the impact on our family and us.
Within the environments where many of us now work, especially in the frontline, we have to assume that most of our patients have COVID-19, symptomatic or not. There is a minimum level of personal protective equipment (PPE) for all acute areas that we feel must meet the concerns we have heard from you all. Please read the advice on PPE under risk assessment below carefully. Many of the scenarios within the new guidance allow considerable flexibility should the situation described by PHE not fit your needs.