High Sheriff of West Sussex looks at PPE supply and explains the vital work of Sussex Resilience Forum

High Sheriff of West Sussex Dr Tim Fooks, in his weekly briefing on projects in the county, takes a look at PPE and how it gets to where it is needed.
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Despite the welcome news that the coronavirus infection rate is currently reducing in West Sussex, Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) remains an essential component of the anti-viral defence measures needed by frontline clinicians and carers looking after Covid-19 positive patients. But who ensures PPE is reliably supplied across every part of Sussex? The answer is the Sussex Resilience Forum.

One of my main current medical roles is to be the doctor at the Hot Hub clinics, where patients who have been triaged by both their surgery and the Hot Hub doctor, and are felt to be at high risk of Covid-19, or have proven infection, can be assessed and examined face to face.

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Before seeing the patient, I will have first donned PPE and will be wearing scrubs, overshoes, gown, cap, mask, goggles, shield and gloves – much of which is disposable. The consultation room, into which I lead them, has only a couch and all the examination equipment, furniture and door handles are cleaned with chlorine solution between every patient. By the end of the consultation, the patient and I agree whether they are safe to stay at home or to arrange further investigation at hospital.

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Sussex Resilience Forum handling a nightime PPE delivery huuSLAGkRMOKyEj5ueeq

The Hot Hub process, designed by the NHS, is all about safety, for both the patient and the doctor, and each clinic has been co-established with great care by the GP surgeries and Innovations in Primary Care Ltd. An essential component of the service is PPE and it is easy to take its availability for granted.

In fact, the provision of PPE to this clinic, and elsewhere, is part of a much larger, and very complex, operation that has been masterminded by the Sussex Resilience Forum (SRF) and I am grateful to Neil Stocker, director of public protection and deputy chief fire officer at West Sussex County Council, for explaining the process to me.

SRF is a non-statutory, multi-agency organisation that works together to make Sussex (West, East, Brighton and Hove) a safer place. It was established in 2004 as part of a government programme to ensure every area of the country had emergency contingency plans in place to cover the types of disaster that our communities might face, whether on land, at sea or by air.

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Its core membership includes the emergency services, NHS, local authorities, the military and others, with comprehensive support from the voluntary sector, utility companies, major ports and transport, as required. The executive chairman is Assistant Chief Constable Dave Millar, with Neil Stocker acting as one of the co-chairmen. Neil is very clear how effective and important the forum has proved over the years in meeting challenges such as Brexit, flooding and the Shoreham air tragedy, to name a few.

Dr Tim Fooks in PPE for work in Hot Hub clinicsDr Tim Fooks in PPE for work in Hot Hub clinics
Dr Tim Fooks in PPE for work in Hot Hub clinics

During the current crisis, the forum’s logistics team, lead by Marc Clothier, T/Superintendent, Sussex Police and SRF tactical chairman, has been responsible for the distribution of all PPE supplies requested by health and care organisations across Sussex. With Horley Fire Station acting as the central collection and distribution point, and assisted by the military and volunteers, items of PPE, in their hundreds of thousands, have been efficiently distributed across Sussex.

As T/Superintendent Clothier remarked in response to a donation of PPE from a local business: “This is a fantastic example of how businesses, organisations and the public of Sussex have really come together in the face of Covid-19.”

A High Sheriff is required by the Crown to wear, in certain circumstances, a very extraordinary uniform, known as Court Dress, the design of which dates back 300 years and which indicates that the office is ancient, ceremonial and unique. When worn to an event to celebrate the achievements of a group or organisation, Court Dress indicates that this a very special, significant and memorable occasion.

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However, as Covid restrictions currently prevent any such celebrations from being held, my Court Dress remains in its cover. And while I look forward to the time when these events can re-start, in the meantime, when I am at work as a GP in a high-risk Covid Hot Hub clinic, I now have to wear a very different type of uniform – one to protect me rather than to celebrate others.

High Sheriff of West Sussesx Dr Tim Fooks in Court DressHigh Sheriff of West Sussesx Dr Tim Fooks in Court Dress
High Sheriff of West Sussesx Dr Tim Fooks in Court Dress

As reported by this newspaper two, weeks ago, patients may be asked to attend a Hot Hub clinic for an examination once they have spoken to both their own surgery and to the Hot Hub doctor. When they arrive at the clinic, they must remain in their car until I call them from the door and give them a face mask. Instead of velvet, lace and a sword, they will see an anonymous looking doctor.

The work of the Sussex Resilience Forum has impressed me greatly for the remarkable way they have co-ordinated so many different agencies, across a variety of geographical and political boundaries, to ensure we are equipped with sufficient levels of PPE. All of us working with Covid-19 patients are much safer as a result and, on Thursday at 8pm, I will be applauding all those working with the SRF as well as the NHS and carers. I might even do it wearing my Court Dress.

Further information about the Sussex Resilience Forum can be found here:

Twitter: @SussexRF

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