Fresh call on first anniversary of COVID-19 service
Date of release: 24 July 2024
People with suspected COVID-19 are being urged to test if they have symptoms of the virus and to come forward for treatment to keep them out of hospital as a Black Country service celebrates its first anniversary today.
Black Country ICB Community COVID-19 Treatment Service CMDU Team. From left: Julie Painter, Senior Sister, Resham Khumkhum, Group Manager, Danielle Mole, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Healthcare Assistants Anthonia Ossai, Suzanne Richards and Hayley Ward, Janefrances Akachukwu, Staff Nurse, and Jacqui Slater, Matron, holding one of the patient pumps
Some 21,318 people across Wolverhampton alone have been identified as being eligible by the Black Country Integrated Care Board Community COVID-19 Treatment Service COVID Medicines Delivery Service (CMDU).
Of those, 8,956 (42 per cent) are from the top 10 ethnic categories that are other than white British.
This comes after the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) updated its guidance to add a new group of patients eligible for antiviral treatment if they test positive for COVID-19 to the patients already eligible, please see NICE - 5 Supporting information on risk factors for progression to severe COVID19
These include people:- Aged 85 or over
- With end-stage heart failure who have a long-term ventricular assistance device
- On the organ transplant waiting list
- Aged 70 years and over, or who have a BMI of 35 kg/m2 or more, diabetes or heart failure, and:
- are resident in a care home, or
- are already hospitalised.
Everyone in the highest-risk categories is entitled to free lateral flow tests, which can be collected from local community pharmacies signed up to the service. This is provided they have a clinical letter or a prescription or something that can prove they are in those categories.
Julie Painter, Senior Nurse/Team Leader, CMDU, said: “COVID-19 has not gone away – it’s still well and truly with us. People are still dying from it and being admitted to hospital.
“We know there are people out there who are still getting COVID-19 and should be getting tested but they don’t.
“There are two reasons – they probably don’t know they have got it, and they don’t know what to do if they’ve got it, and they don’t realise this service is here to try to prevent them going into hospital.
Jacqui Slater and Julie Painter with the patient pump (left) and Julie Painter with a poster promoting awareness of the service
“There are still very vulnerable people who are not getting good outcomes.
“We want to keep the profile raised for all eligible patients but we have a particular issue with reaching certain ethnic groups.
“It only takes one person in that bracket to get COVID-19 and to go into hospital and die and that could put a lot of other vulnerable people at risk.
“We want to improve access for the highest-risk patients who test positive for COVID-19 and we have treatments available for them. These are delivered through the CMDU.
“It is really important patients have lateral flow tests at home and test as soon as they have symptoms of COVID-19. To be assessed, contact the CMDU, your GP or call 111 if you test positive.”
The CMDU also offers an intravenous infusion service, which is unique, if oral antiviral treatment is not appropriate.
The service is Black Country-wide but has been commissioned by the Black Country ICB to be run by The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust.
The CMDU can be contacted by emailing: rwh-tr.cmdu.wolverhampton@nhs.net or calling 07775 752740 from Monday to Friday from 8am-4pm.
Patients can self-refer or be referred via GP, 111 or hospital specialist team.
ENDS
- For further information, please call Tim Nash on 07714 741097 or email tim.nash2@nhs.net
