TESTINGTIMEFORWENDY
PIONEERING COVID TEAM UP FOR HEALTH AWARD
OUR health and social care services confronted an unprecedented challenge this year, as nurse Wendy Third can testify.
The senior manager at Dundee Health and Social Care Partnership helped set up a coronavirus testing service at NHS Tayside in early March as Covid-19 took hold.
Initially it was meant to carry out community tests but very quickly became the first NHS staff testing service in Scotland.
Seven health professionals from across NHS Tayside, including scientists, embryologists, dental nurses and admin support workers, came together in the new team – but within weeks, as the virus spread, their number grew to more than 50.
Wendy said: “Everyone was thrown together and it was just a question of rolling up your sleeves and getting on with it.”
The team set up a drive-through facility to test people, as well as a fleet of vehicles to go out to do testing in the community.
In April, access to testing was extended beyond NHS Tayside and health and social care partnership staff to include community pharmacy, care home, local authority, ambulance and prison service staff. This resulted in hundreds of key workers in sectors beyond the NHS being able to return to their essential roles after testing negative.
A study by NHS Tayside and the University of Dundee published in May estimated that more than 8000 lost working days were prevented through the testing programme.
The successful service also led the way for the testing centres that followed across Scotland.
Wendy has nominated this amazing group for the Top Team Award in the Scottish Health Awards 2020. She said: “They deserve recognition as they came together in such exceptional circumstances and became a team without trying too hard because they were all so motivated and determined.
“Staff testing was something we needed to do to keep our workforce together, so that NHS Tayside could look after the patients.”
While we expect that Covid-19 will feature across most categories this year, a new People’s Choice Award will specifically recognise individuals and teams who responded to the challenge of caring for people during the pandemic. Shortlisted entries for this category will be announced on October 19 for a public vote.
Finalists in the other categories will be published on November 11. All winners will be announced during a virtual ceremony on December 9.
Nurse helped to set up NHS Tayside service that paved way for centres across Scotland BY KATRINA TWEEDIE