Webchat with Dr Jenny Harries, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England, Wednesday 25 March at 11.30-NEW ANSWERS ADDED

[RowanMumsnet]

Hello

We're pleased to announce a webchat with Dr Jenny Harries, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England, at 11.30am on Wednesday March 25.

Jenny Harries was appointed Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England in July 2019, taking on a broad portfolio including the health service and commissioning support. Jenny’s previous roles include: PHE Deputy Medical Director, PHE Executive Lead for specialised commissioning and Welsh National Health and Healthcare Director. Alongside these roles, Jenny has been a member of the Welsh Medicines Committee and the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group. Jenny has an extensive clinical and public health background (BSc (Hons) Pharmacology; MPH; FFPH) and her work has extended overseas as far afield as New Zealand, Pakistan and Kenya. She was awarded an OBE in the 2016 New Year’s Honours List for services to Public Health. She advises the government on its response to coronavirus.

Dr Harries' time is at a premium at the moment, to put it mildly, so we will only have her for 45 minutes.

As always, please remember our guidelines - one question per user, follow-ups only if there’s time and most questions have been answered, and please keep it civil. Also if one topic is dominating a thread, mods might request that people don't continue to post what's effectively the same question or point. (We may suspend the accounts of anyone who continues after we've posted to ask people to stop, so please take note.) Rest assured we will ALWAYS let the guest know that it's an area of concern to multiple users and will encourage them to engage with those questions.

Many thanks,
MNHQ

*[Message edited by MNHQ to give the preferred title of Dr rather than Professor]

I am a nanny working in a family home. I travel from my home each day. Can you tell me how I can reduce virus spread as I can not maintain 2 m distance from the children. One is a baby.

DD is a care asst in a nursing home. She had to support an end of life resident within isolation at the local hospital. The hospital swabbed before he passed as he had a cough, how long before we know the results and will she be told if not a family member?

Also, huge huge thanks to you and your colleagues across NHS. It takes a certain type of incrediably special person to do those jobs, seeing what you see, knowing what you know is coming and to return the following day when you know it's going to be worse than yesterday. This is one of the times when a simple 'thank you' just doesn't cut it so I'll be staying in instead. Much love and appreciation from our household to the NHS family.

I am a PICU nurse & my hospital is a COVID-19 Center. Yesterday I was identified as high risk of serious illness if I catch Coronavirus & should self isolate (indoors etc) for 12 weeks. I will follow this advice but am desperate to help my colleagues with this pandemic.
How do I sit with my extreme guilt at not helping? Will the advice for my group change as more NHS workers become sick/demand for ITU beds increase?

What’s the best advice for pregnant ladies please? It seems an even more worrying time to be pregnant. Are maternity services likely to change? Eg home births etc

Hello, my baby was taken into hospital with the signs of COVID-19 a few days ago. The nurse said he’ll only be tested if he’s admitted to the ward (luckily he wasn’t) and the results take 7 days. Could you please advise who is supposed to be tested, if not those presenting symptoms (not just patients so ill that they have to be admitted)? This would be very useful in tracing who he may have potentially infected before he displayed symptoms and for people to be vigilant on household isolation.

Reports in the media are saying we can obtain results in the same day, is this currently the timescale that the NHS is achieving? 7 days as I was told, seems quite a long period to wait as the patient could end up becoming very ill as opposed to managing the virus symptoms before it got to that stage.

Could you shed any light please on whether there is a risk associated with taking ACE inhibitors for hypertension? I've read that they can make the risk of severe coronavirus infection much higher.

Is the risk the high blood pressure itself, or the medication, or is the link not relevant? Thank you.

I am a GP with an interest in women's health. I would like to know if there is going to be guidance for cervical screening and mammograms. I understand Wales has ceased their screening programme but the guidance in England is patchy. What is the plan regarding screening?

My brother is on dialysis for renal failure, he has to attend a busy London hospital three times a week and go on public transport. The tube is now packed as the service has been reduced. He cannot isolate. How do you suppose he stay safe?

Thank you for all that you are doing in these difficult times.

I’m a teacher and as far as I am aware, schools haven’t been issues with safety advice regarding steps teachers should take to protect themselves while supervising the childcare hubs (beyond hand washing, social distancing, cleaning surfaces). I’ve seen things being informally circulated suggesting that we should not wear jewellery, tie our hair back, strip and wash our clothes immediately on coming back home, disinfect everything we bring back and perhaps even wear PPE. What is your advice and will teachers be issued anything official about how best to approach this?

Hello can you advise on whether it is safe to exchange books? With school and libraries closed I am keen to get new books for my son and I was thinking about setting up a local swap system, but I am worried about whether the virus could transfer via books. Many thanks.

Hello Dr Harries.
Some posters on these boards say that because very many people get this disease and show few or mild symptoms, and that those who become seriously ill or die would have died anyway, we should not worry. Do you have any thoughts on this?

Hello and thank you Professor Harris. My question is: Would it be correct to say that the more people within the big city population have the corona virus the more „ dense with the virus” air in this city is? I’m thinking London and its imminent and inevitable huge raise in cases.

Thank you for taking time out here to answer some of our questions.

As the wife of a frontline health worker, I am very worried that he will bring the virus home. I am 29 weeks pregnant and we have a young child together. His pregnant colleagues have been sent home but there is no concern for the fact that if he catches it, I would be just as 'at risk' as one of his pregnant colleagues because we live together. How can I keep myself safe during this time?

Hi Professor Harris,

Can I raise the issue of PPE. I am a nurse and we are still struggling with PPE, in particular masks. I am reading about various companies offering support to build ventilators. And another today with alcohol gel. Would it be reasonable to appeal to one of the manufacturers to help with that. We are being told they are single use but we do not have a vast supply in all areas to do this. It is a massive risk to all and we are worried about over exposure

Thanks

Will there be enough staff in maternity units during this time to adequately deliver babies and care for mothers?

I'm 26 weeks pregnant (baby due beginning of July), and concerned there may not be.

My due date currently coincides with the flat-ish part of the curve, but I'm worried NHS staff and resources will have been exhausted by this time.

Thank you for all that you and your organisation are doing in these unprecedented times.

Hello, does it matter what type of thermometer we use? Should they be digital.?What is the most accurate way to use a thermometer with children

From your latest modelling (and understanding all the caveats about how it could well be wrong, given our current lack of knowledge about covid-19), when do you expect the peak to hit? And when do you expect it to come back down to manageable levels (leading to loosening of restrictions)?

Hi Dr Harries.

I hope you are staying safe and well.

I’m a HCPC registered private practitioner. How am I best able to help?

Hello Dr Harries

The BBC reported that the top 4 death rates for underlying health conditions were Cardiovascular, Diabetes, Respiratory disease and High Blood Pressure.

The WHO have also mentioned High Blood Pressure, yet it is missing from the PHE list for vulnerable people? Is this an error?

Many thanks!
Someone with hypertension and pre-diabeties (so not strictly on the list!).

My husband is at high risk due to high blood pressure. Should we be continuing to open our post as normal or is there a risk of contracting COVID-19 that way (given that we have no idea of the hygiene habits of anyone who may have handled the envelope or the letter inside it)?

Another enquiry about PPE.

My daughter is a dr and there's so little PPE available they are using taped surgical masks which are almost useless.

Please, please is it possible to offer health staff more protective equipment? I'm so worried for my child.

Thank you to you and all your NHS colleagues. This is my question

If you became the only person available to provide care to someone in their 90s (health issues, early dementia, needs full time care), how long in true self-isolation and if you were symptomless would you wait before going?

Government suggests 7 days is enough. I've read 24 days incubation period (see link below) but this seems rare. If this terrible situation occurred, I was thinking that maybe 14 days would be enough coupled with as much social distancing as is possible in a care situation for a futher 7 days (so wearing a mask, not sharing bathrooms, not eating together, lots of hand washing - that type of thing).

Or should people wait a full 24 days?

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/coronavirus-incubation-period-symptoms-china-sars-length-days-time-a9326591.html

My husband and I are both frontline key workers, we usually have family childcare two days a week and nursery one, our son is 15 months. We'd agreed with nursery to go up to 3 days during this time (and pay) to avoid any family members having to come into our home, now they're closing completely including to keyworkers! We can't do our jobs from home and we are very much needed as frontline staff, my mum had offered to come two days a week she's 58 and in good health, she's also been following the appropriate social distancing for a while now. Is this an exceptional circumstance or is the carer caveat only for the elderly/vulnerable or if parents are too ill?

Hi Dr Harries

Thank you for your hard work during this exceptionally busy time.

My question is about companies that provide medication and ancillaries for people on life-sustaining therapies at home, so called homecare providers.

My daughter is 11 and is dependent on parenteral nutrition (PN) which my husband and I administer for her at home. This is lifelong for her.

Our homecare provider is contracted by the NHS, but is a private company, Lloyd's Pharmacy Clinical Homecare (LPCH).
They prepare and deliver 5 bags of short shelf life, refrigerated PN a week to us and crucially all the ancillaries (syringes, giving sets, anti-microbial central line lock solutions etc)

What provision has been made to ensure these homecare providers can secure the necessary products to keep supplying us with PN and ancillaries? Can you reassure me that this is being worked on at the highest level?

As you can imagine, the fear for us is that the world is using these products at an alarming rate & we are unsure whether our deliveries will continue to arrive.
We are seeing the world run out of hand sanitizer and PPE already, so fear that iv bags, giving sets and syringes are next.

If we were to run out, it would mean immediate hospital admission, and of course we are keen to keep her out of hospital if at all possible for her safety and for the staff and bed space in hospital.

Thank you

Thank you very much for your time, Dr Harries.

I am deeply concerned at the impact this whole situation will have on mental health, particularly those with existing conditions.
What is your advice for those in need of help now, especially if they are unknown to services?

Thank you very much and many thanks to you and your colleagues for all your amazing work now.