Hi there,

Thank you for your You Make Change and I apologise for the delay in reply. I have spoken to the Associate Dean of Education for Medicine and has said:

When considering the return of students to clinical placement, the safety of students, patients and staff is at the forefront of our minds. We are liaising very closely with our clinical placement providers to manage the risk of Covid 19. Students will be expected to adhere to the same protocols as members of staff in the clinical environment. In clinical areas students will be expected to wear personal protective equipment in line with the local guidance from the individual trusts. Students  will be provided with the necessary equipment. As hospitals start to return to something like normal activity it is likely that there will be designated Covid and non Covid areas in which case students may be required to be tested as will staff.

Before students return to clinical placement they will receive an induction where much of the focus will be on infection control. I would also emphasis that the Covid 19 threat will be with us for sometime and will have an impact on students when they graduate. Understanding how to work safely in a Covid environment needs to be very much part of the learning experience for students in a clinical environment. Our responsibility is to ensure that is delivered safely.

We are also risk assessing students before they return to clinical placement with the support of the Occupational Health department at the hospital to make sure that students with health needs are not put at risk.

Kind regards,

Jo Lisney, VP Education & Democracy 2019-20, (vpeddem@soton.ac.uk)