Beacon Hospital Sandyford, Dublin 18 D18 AK68

A GUIDE TO STAYING SAFE AT HOME WITH COVID 19

Tel: 01 293 6600 www.beaconhospital.ie Version 01.0620

THIS IS MODERN MEDICINE

A GUIDE TO STAYING SAFE AT HOME WITH COVID 19 PATIENT INFORMATION

As you have already been informed, your routine test was positive for Covid-19. As a result of this, you must self-isolate at home for 14 days. This booklet contains some useful information which may help to answer some of your questions. A member of Beacon Hospital’s team will provide you with support during this time. They will keep in regular contact with you and assist you in monitoring key symptoms for up to 14 days. Your team will ask you to do daily checks of your breathing and oxygen levels and will discuss these with you over the phone. Our Respiratory Team will contact you on day 5. Your team will contact you again on day 14 after your swab results are in to review your progress. If you are unwell outside of these calls, please contact Beacon Hospital’s Nursing Supervisor on 01 293 6600 or your local emergency services if you require immediate medical attention. What is Self-Isolation? Self-isolation means you stay at home and avoid contact with other people, including those in your household for a period of 14 days. The advice on self-isolation below will help control the spread of Coronavirus.

What Kind of Symptoms Can I Expect to Feel from Covid-19? Not everyone who has Coronavirus (COVID-19) will have the same symptoms. Four in five people who contract it will have mild symptoms and will recover on their own at home with rest and care. Most common symptoms include: • Fever, fatigue, cough (any type of cough, not just dry), muscle aches or pains. • Less common symptoms are sore throat, mild shortness of breath, runny or blocked nose, or headache. • Occasional symptoms include diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting.

Keeping the Household Safe While you Self-Isolate 1. Stay at home • Do not go out except if you have your own outdoor space to get some fresh air. Phone family or neighbours and ask for help if you need groceries, other shopping or medications. These should be left on your doorstep at an arranged time so you can bring them in as soon as the person leaves. You should not have any physical contact with the person/s dropping these off. 2. Keep away from other people in your home as much as you can • Stay in a separate room with a window you can open, if possible. • If you have to go into the same room with other people at home you should try to keep at least 1 metre (3 ft) and where possible 2 metres away from them. • If you can, use a separate toilet and bathroom to the rest of the people in your home. • If you don’t have your own toilet and bathroom, make sure to keep the toilet and bathroom very clean (see advice below). 3. Clean your hands • Clean your hands regularly. This is one of the most important things you can do. • Try not to touch your face.

4. Cover your coughs and sneezes

Cover Your Cough and Sneeze

• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. • Place used tissues into a plastic waste bag (see note below for managing rubbish), and immediately clean your hands with alcohol hand rub or wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

Stop the spread of germs that make people sick.

5. Do not share things

WHEN YOU COUGH OR SNEEZE COVER YOUR NOSE AND MOUTH WITH A TISSUE OR COUGH OR SNEEZE INTO YOUR ELBOW NOT YOUR HANDS

• Do not share food, dishes, drinking glasses, cups, knives, forks and spoons or other items with people in your household. • Wash kitchen items in a dishwasher or with washing up liquid and hot water after use. If you are not well enough, someone else in the house can do this for you. The person should use household or rubber gloves for this task. • Do not share towels, bedding or other items with anyone in your household (see laundry advice below). • If you use remote controls or games consoles clean them thoroughly before anyone else in the house uses them. • If you cough or sneeze on a screen, a phone, or game console, wipe the screen clean immediately. 6. Do not have visitors in your home

BIN YOUR TISSUE...

• Do not invite or allow unnecessary visitors to enter your home. • If someone urgently needs to come to the house, keep 2 metres (6.5ft) away from them and advise them that you are not well. 7. Toileting and bathing • If possible use a toilet that no one else is using. • If that is not possible clean your hands before entering, after using the toilet and before you leave the room. • If you use the bath or shower, clean any surfaces you have touched afterwards. • Do not share your towels with anyone else. 8. Household cleaning

...AND REMEMBER TO CLEAN YOUR HANDS AFTER COUGHING OR SNEEZING.

• All surfaces, such as counters, table-tops, doorknobs, banisters, bathroom fixtures, toilets and toilet handles, phones, keyboards, tablets, and bedside tables, should be cleaned every day with a cleaning product such as a disinfectant wipe. • Use your normal household products. These regular detergents and bleaches are very effective at destroying the virus. • Wear household or rubber gloves when cleaning surfaces or handling dirty laundry. Wash and dry them after use. Always wash your hands after you take off the gloves. • Wash reusable cleaning cloths in a hot wash cycle of a washing machine after use. • Dispose of single-use gloves and cleaning cloths in a plastic waste bag after using them (see advice about managing rubbish below).

Monitoring Process Contact with your respiratory team Your support team will call you by day five day at home. They will ask you questions about how you are feeling and talk you through your monitoring steps as outlined below. • Assessment tool for you to monitor your breathing rate Sit in a comfortable position. Count your breathing rate for one full minute. Your breathing rate is a normal breath in and out. This is much more accurate if a family member can do it for you. Record this number and keep it to hand in case the team asks for it on your call. • Assessment tool for you to monitor your breathlessness (Borg Scale) Score your feeling of breathlessness using the scale at the back of this booklet and write it down. • Check your blood oxygen levels using a pulse oximeter.

9. Laundry • Wash laundry at the highest temperature the material can stand. • Tumble dry items and iron using a hot setting or steam iron. • Make sure to use household rubber gloves or disposable gloves when handling dirty laundry.Hold laundry items away from yourself. • Wash your hands after handling dirty laundry, even when you have used gloves. • Do not send laundry to a laundrette. 10. Managing rubbish • Put all your personal waste including used tissues and all cleaning waste in a plastic rubbish bag. • Tie the bag when it is almost full, place it into a second bin bag and tie it. • Once the bag has been securely tied, it should be left somewhere safe for disposing of. Please note, these bags should be sored for 3 days before leaving out for your refuse company to collect. The bags should be left or kept somewhere safe for three days before putting them out for collection by your waste company. • You can put your other household waste out for collection without any delay.

Sit in an upright position. Ensure you that are resting and feeling comfortable. Press the button twice. The first will turn the monitor on the second time will ensure the numbers are displaying the correct way. Place your index finger into the monitor. Leave your finger in the monitor until a clear steady percentage appears. Remove your finger from the monitor, turn it off monitor and record the numbers displayed. • Temperature check If you have been asked by your discharging team, use a thermometer to check your temperature. Ensure that you are sitting in a room at a comfortable temperature and record this reading on your discharge diary.

• Activity programme Resuming activity after a hospital stay is an important part of your recovery. Even if you have to stay within your home environment there are many simple exercises that can be done to help regain your strength and fitness – for example climbing the stairs or performing simple exercises to strengthen your arms and legs.

Can I Phone in Instead of Waiting to be Called? Yes, you can contact your support team if required by calling 087 953 2610 Monday to Friday mornings. Outside of these times, contact Beacon Hospital's Nursing Supervisor on 01 293 6600 if you have any questions or concerns regarding your at home care.

On Completion of Monitoring As you continue your recovery and reach Day 14, you will no longer need to monitor the oxygen level in your blood or your temperature. At this point, you should return your pulse oximeter and thermometer to Beacon Hospital. This can be done by delivering them to Beacon Hospital’s Main Reception in the envelope provided, marked for attention of the Respiratory nurse, or by posting them registered post to: Respiratory Nurse, Beacon Hospital, Sandyford, Dublin 18, D18 AK68 You can also bring it with you to your consultation with your Consultant. As this essential equipment is needed to help other people during their recovery, we ask that it Is returned as soon as possible.

Home Diary

How to Wash Your Hands

Oxygen level %

Day

Breathlessness score

Breath Rate

Comment

Day 1 Breakfast Day 1 Lunch Day 2 Breakfast Day 2 lunch Day 3 Breakfast Day 3 Lunch Day 4 Breakfast Day 4 Lunch Day 5 Breakfast Day 5 Lunch Day 14 Breakfast Day 14 Lunch

Shortness of Breath Modified Borg Dyspnea Scale 0

Nothing at all

0.5

Extremely Slight (Just Noticeable)

1

Very Slight

2

Slight

3

Moderate

4

Somewhat Severe

5

Severe

6 7

Very Severe

8 9

Extremely Severe (Almost Maximal)

10

Maximal

No shortness of breath 0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8 9

Maximal Shortness 10 of breath

Protect yourself and others against infections.