In the last few weeks, colleagues from across the University along with our FD services have yet again come together with impressive speed in response to establishing the asymptomatic testing centres on campus.

The collaboration between the FD, Business Change, IT, HR, Health and Safety, Sustainability, Student Education Services and the University Communications team has been phenomenal, and huge thanks go to everyone involved. This type of testing will form a strategy to break the transmission of the Covid virus. Although it places a lot of pressure on our facilities and staff, we as a University community continue to demonstrate the importance of keeping our students and staff safe whilst also making a large contribution to beat the virus regionally and nationally.

Teams from across the FD work together

In establishing the two testing sites, colleagues in Estates Operations including the DLO and the Handy Gang, Development, Health and Safety, PCB, Procurement, Estates Planning and the Project Management Office, ensured the safe set up of sites. In this time, plans were created to show all areas of the site including reception desks, testing booths, showers and changing facilities for staff. Various items of equipment including booths, special flooring, furniture, hand sanitisers and signage were procured and installed to create a Covid safe environment. Whilst colleagues from Residential Service played a key role in initially devising a testing booking system with the Project Management Office.

In order to fully support the testing sites, many SPA staff were deployed into one of the following critical delivery roles; operational managers, registration assistants and/or test result recorders. All staff deployed into these roles received full training and full PPE. Cleaning Services were involved in supporting the test centre facilities in providing clinical-level cleaning and sanitising services over a 14-hour day. This placed the team in a demanding environment requiring a lot of training and planning of logistics and rotas. However, the Cleaners, Cleaning Supervisors, Environmental Team and Senior Supervisors all pulled together in a very tight time frame to make this happen!

The Sustainability team worked closely with the Central Communications team in the lead up to the student travel window. This work was to reassure local residents of the measures put in place to allow students to visit the asymptomatic testing centres safely, and travel during the travel window. The Conference team supported the operation of a call centre to support the students who were booking an asymptomatic test and responding to any questions. Throughout the testing period, the Mailroom provided a critical service delivering test kits and other materials between the testing sites. Colleagues from Health and Safety and Estates Operations Maintenance team were also on call to manage any matters that arose.

What a fantastic team effort!!