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System approach to health protection during Covid-19

Outcome/aim

To provide consistent public health leadership to control, manage and respond to Covid-19 to minimise transmission and protect the most vulnerable. This included supporting more than 1,200 local businesses to implement control measures, responding to over 90 workplace outbreaks including contact tracing in complex cases. It also provided swift responses to over 40 outbreaks per day in care settings at the peak of the pandemic.

Background
The LCC Health Protection team has provided solid and consistent public health leadership in response to the control and management of the pandemic for Leeds. The team provided evidence-based and coordinated action, with intelligence-led decision-making mobilising services.

What has been delivered?
Health Protection developed and enhanced key features that were an important part of our Leeds response to Covid outbreaks and minimising spread:

  • Took an adaptive and flexible approach, led by Public Health but shared and owned by all services across health and care systems.
  • Ability of the health and care system to work at a fast pace and with agility supported by Health Protection.
  • Innovative thinking and new technologies – development of a local surveillance system that informs a timely response to outbreaks and incidents. HP STAR (Surveillance, Tracking and Reporting)
  • Working across organisational boundaries and removing barriers e.g. rapidly agreeing joint working agreements between partners.
  • Delivered our wider health protection services through a one-system response by blending the skills and capabilities of the key teams.

What was the impact/next steps?

  • Led system response to reduce the impact of significant outbreaks in care homes, education and workplace settings through a robust incident management system. At the peak of infection rates we were responding to up to 15 outbreaks per week.
  • Rapidly recruited to and scaled up the Infection Prevention service, Environmental Health and Health Protection team.
  • Supported Environmental Health, who have been helping over 1,200 local businesses to implement control measures, to respond to over 90 workplace outbreaks including contact tracing in complex cases.
  • Leeds Community Healthcare infection prevention services provided swift responses to over 40 outbreaks per day in care settings at the peak of the pandemic.
  • Led the development of a Leeds City Council Public Health single point of contact for the system, to alert us of incidents and outbreaks.
  • Developed joint working agreements including: surveillance reporting with all six universities, Public Health England, Leeds Public Health and local support services.
  • Developed a testing strategy, intelligence led deployment of mobile testing including pop-up testing and surge testing to respond to local community need. Established local testing sites accessible for local communities.
  • Established the Leeds Contact Tracing Service, which contacted up to 100 people a day who hadn’t been contacted through the national Track and Trace service, and offered support to isolate.
  • Increased allocation of funding to third sector to provide community engagement support in areas of high rates and deprivation, including door knocking to provide support to test and isolate.