Track and trace.. is she exempt?

[hatesomethinchangesomethin]

Friend of mine I work with. We work in icu, got called this morning by track and trace told to self isolate but she told me she's exempt and won't be telling work she's been told to isolate. Aibu to say this is absolute bollocks?

I don't think anyone is exempt from track and trace are they? I've never heard of it.
Do you think she means she knows she's already had it so thinks she's immune?

Family members who are HCPs have been told they need to attend work unless they have symptoms despite being in contact with Covid positive people. I don’t know what to make of it.

She says because we deal with Covid positive patients all the time there is no need. It's a family member who has tested positive but different house, however she spent a week with them last week on holiday, so it's not like someone at the pub got it and she's been contacted.

As name change says our trust is as above.

seems sensible to me otherwise the hospital wouldn't have any staff

But surely when they are in contact with Covid patients in the hospital they are in full PPE..etc which presumably wasn't the case when the track and trace issue occurred (at a restaurant/ pub?)

I think she means she won’t give her colleagues Covid because they will be wearing ppe and her patients will already have it. Am assuming she will travel by car and only go to work.
Not saying I agree but that may have been what she was told to do.

So they went on holiday with another family last week, shared a house together, did everything together and by all accounts had a great week. Good stuff. 4 people out of the 7 who went on holiday have tested positive for covid. Her and her partner haven't been tested but they have been told by track and trace to self isolate. She says she doesn't need to because of our job. Her DH is self isolating but he works from home anyway.

Best person to ask is your manager. They may say she needs a test but if negative she is fine to work, they may say she is fine or she has to isolate. It all gets less straight forward daily 😂

Separate track and trace guidelines for health workers are here

www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-management-of-exposed-healthcare-workers-and-patients-in-hospital-settings/covid-19-management-of-exposed-healthcare-workers-and-patients-in-hospital-settings#test-and-trace

No she’s not exempt according to what I have read. And whilst she may work with covid patients and be in full ppe, that’s only when she is with patients, what about meetings, when she is getting changed etc.

i thought however there are very few patients in icu with covid now?

She is wrong! NHS staff are exempt whilst they are at work, providing they are wearing PPE correctly. They are NOT exempt in their daily activities. She needs to isolate!

Not sure if I made tgat clear. NHS staff who cone into contact with Covid positive people at work are exempt providing they are wearing PPE. If they come into contact with a Covid positive person in their daily life, they absolutely have to isolate as part of track and trace. I work in HR for a Trust and a very very dim view would be taken of a staff member who did what you are describing OP. PPE is not infallable and she is very much putting other staff members at risk (think communal areas, locker rooms, canteens etc). What a selfish person!

If she’s so convinced she’s exempt why the need to conceal it from her boss. Yes there are some exemptions for HCPs, but this isn’t one, and the situation you describe with her holiday really does put her at risk of having picked it up.

The situation I was referring to was not in relation to the kind of scenario you described OP.

I meant nursing/operating on someone who later turned out to be Covid positive.

@chickenyhead

seems sensible to me otherwise the hospital wouldn't have any staff

WTAF?!?

So according to you Covid+ hospital staff (or at sufficient risk of being so that they’re told to self-isolate) should turn up to work and risk spreading Covid amongst vulnerable patients?

By your logic the same should apply to care home staff, as otherwise they might be short-staffed too!?

I work in HR for a Trust and a very very dim view would be taken of a staff member who did what you are describing OP.

Deliberately ignoring a requirement to self-isolate and concealing this from your managers, and potentially risking an outbreak of Covid that would literally be deadly to vulnerable hospital patients would arguably be gross misconduct. I’ve dismissed people for less.

I’d agree the last place she should be is Intensive Care if she’s been staying with Covid positive people for a week.

I’d actually report her to her boss myself tbh!

4 people out of the 7 who went on holiday have tested positive for covid. Her and her partner haven't been tested but they have been told by track and trace to self isolate

So it’s a highly significant risk she has been infected. If I was her boss and she came in to work in a medical setting regardless, I’d dismiss her. It’s grossly irresponsible.

...Vulnerable patients and also risk spreading it to her colleagues too!

Please report her. Selfish people like this is why we can't get the number of cases down and it will increase the risk of a second wave. Everyone needs to pay their part.

Absolutely report her. If she’s a nurse she also needs reporting to the NMC. She could be responsible for an outbreak amongst highly vulnerable patients. Also an outbreak amongst the staff could end up closing the unit. Stupidity knows no bounds.

I'd tell her manager. I'd give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she's misunderstood the exemption, but intentionally withholding the information from her manager would suggest otherwise...

I'm a vet and our professional body has negotiated for us to be exempt, ie. colleagues are not considered contacts. I hate it because we work closely together and if one person tests positive there's no doubt whoever they've worked with that day are well and truly exposed, and will spread it to other colleagues. But their priority is keeping vet practices open!!

Another one saying you should report or at least convince her to do the right thing. So much effort has gone into preventing transmission within hospitals.

If she truly believes she's exempt then there would be no need to not tell your work, would there.
I think if this is all happening as described you have a moral duty to tell someone.
Maybe frame it as asking for clarification on the exemption based on what she's told you rather than reporting her if that's easier, but if you ignore it and vulnerable patients catch it from her then that would be partly on you.
Sorry she's put you in that position.