SAFER

Start date: 1 April 2020
End date: 1 October 2021
Funder: UK Research and Innovation
Value: £1.5m
Partners and collaborators: University College London (UCL), UCL Hospital
External primary investigator: Dr Eleni Nastouli (UCL)
Co-investigators: Professor Ed Manley

Safer

Additional co-investigators: Nick Gotts (Research Fellow), Jared Wilson-Aggarwal (Research Fellow)

Nosocomial transmission of coronaviruses has been well reported and in cases of MERS-CoV and SARS, and is associated with significant mortality and morbidity. There is lack of evidence around the risk of SARS-CoV-2 in healthcare workers (HCWs) during the early stages of an epidemic. We have a unique opportunity to re-instigate a previous protocol which examined symptomatic and asymptomatic influenza in HCWs at University College London Hospitals (UCLH) in 2017/8.

We propose a study that will examine rates of SARS-CoV-2 acquisition in HCWs using the previous methodology. We will additionally conduct movement and interaction tracking analysis and qualitative interviews with HCWs to establish the challenges of working during a novel pathogen outbreak.

Impact

The information from our study will add significantly to the understanding of staff health and safety, hospital infection prevention and control, and will improve the evidence-base for the protection of patients and staff.