Updated Cochrane review of PPE
Personal protective equipment for preventing highly infectious diseases due to exposure to contaminated body fluids in healthcare staff.  Verbeek JH, Rajamaki B, Ijaz S, Sauni R, Toomey E, Blackwood B, Tikka C, Ruotsalainen JH, Kilinc Balci FS. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020 Apr 15;4:CD011621. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD011621.pub4.

Cochrane Clinical Answers related to COVID-19,Cochrane (Updated 22nd April 2020) 
Cochrane Clinical Answers (CCAs) provide a readable, digestible, clinically-focused entry point to rigorous research from Cochrane Reviews. They are designed to be actionable and to inform point-of-care decision-making. Each CCA contains a clinical question, a short answer, and data for the outcomes from the Cochrane Review deemed most relevant to practising healthcare professionals. The evidence is displayed in a user-friendly tabulated format that includes narratives, data, and links to graphics.

Latest rapid guidelines from NICE

• Gastrointestinal and liver conditions treated with drugs affecting the immune response [NG172], NICE
  The purpose of this guideline is to maximise the safety of children and adults who have gastrointestinal or liver conditions treated with drugs affecting the immune response during the COVID 19 pandemic. It also aims to protect staff from infection and enable services to make the best use of NHS resources.
• COVID-19 rapid guideline: acute myocardial injury [NG171], NICE 
  The guideline covers care in a hospital setting. The recommendations are specifically for acute myocardial injury associated with COVID-19 and should be used alongside good clinical practice. The recommendations bring together: evidence from published literature on COVID-19 with acute myocardial injury existing national and international guidance and policies advice from specialists working in the NHS from across the UK. These include people with expertise and experience of treating patients with acute myocardial injury during the current COVID-19 pandemic.
• Updated rapid COVID-19 guideline on managing symptoms (including at the end of life) in the community April 22nd.

COVID-19 rapid evidence summary on acute use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for people with or at risk of COVID-19

Other Specialty Guidance:

• Clinical guide for acute kidney injury in hospitalised patients with COVID-19 outside the intensive care unit during the coronavirus pandemic, NHS England (updated21 April 2020, Version 1.1)
  This guidance is for use by all professionals looking after inpatients with COVID-19 outside intensive care settings.
• Clinical guide for the management of urgent and emergency spinal surgical patients during the coronavirus pandemic. 14 April 2020, Version 2 Full text here
• Clinical guide for the management of palliative care in hospital during the coronavirus pandemic. Keeping the care in healthcare. 22 April 2020, Version 2 Updated 22 April with updates highlighted in yellow.
• Clinical guidelines for children and young people with palliative care needs in all care settings during the COVID19 pandemic. 17 April 2020 Full text here.
• Reference guide for emergency medicine. 22 April 2020 Version 5 Full text here.
• Clinical guide for renal replacement therapy options in critical care during the coronavirus pandemic. 15 April 2020 Version 1.1 Full text here.
• Clinical guide for the management of stroke patients during the coronavirus pandemic 23 March 2020 Version 1 Updated 16 April with updates highlighted in
  yellow

Strengthening hospital capacity for the Covid-19 pandemic – Imperial College London
This reportpresents the J-IDEA pandemic planner, a hospital planning tool to calculate how much capacity in terms of beds, staff and ventilators is obtained by implementing health care provision interventions affecting the management of patient care in hospitals. It shows how to assess baseline capacity, and then calculate how much capacity is gained by various health care interventions using impact estimates that are generated as part of this study.

UKAP statement to healthcare workers and occupational health departments during the COVID-19 pandemic – UK Advisory Panel for Healthcare Workers Infected with Bloodborne Viruses (UKAP) 
This statementprovides guidance for occupational health physicians and healthcare workers on appropriate arrangements for the health clearance of redeployed and retired NHS staff, and on the monitoring of healthcare workers living with bloodborne viruses (BBVs), during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Survey results: understanding people’s concerns about the mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic – Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS)
The AMS, together with the research charity MQ: Transforming Mental Health, are working with researchers and those with lived experience to ensure that mental health is at the heart of research into the impacts of COVID-19. This report describes the findings of a consultation undertaken in late March 2020, the week that the Prime Minister announced the UK lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Developing emotional resilience and wellbeing: a practical guide for social workers – Community Care
This guideincludes the “competencies” that support emotional resilience, including self-compassion and self-care and having a flexible range of coping skills; how to ensure emotional literacy allows for “appropriate empathy”, rather than being overwhelmed by concern and distress for others; and specific techniques practitioners can try to develop a personal resilience “toolbox” that meets their own needs and allows them to respond to different situations.

RPS guidance on ethical, professional decision making in the Covid-19 pandemic – Royal Pharmaceutical Society
This guidancehas been developed to support pharmacists and registered pharmacy technicians faced with making difficult decisions linked to the exceptional impact of Covid-19. It provides helpful reminders about the process of reasoned decision making, the national pandemic ethical framework and some considerations about specific areas of importance to pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. The varied experiences of the guidance contributors brings together a wide range of up to the moment professional issues that many may or will be facing.

Supporting older people and people living with dementia during self-isolation – British Psychological Society
This guidance  for older people includes advice on remaining connected and staying active during the pandemic, and a section on the needs of people living with dementia and memory problems — particularly on how to help them understand and follow Covid-19 advice.

Latest COVID-19 guidance updates for NHS Employers

As well as recent additions including FAQs on pre-employment checks, the following updates have been made to the COVID-19 guidance for workforce leaders in the past week:

• Bringing staff back– A new paragraph has been added that signposts to guidance from NHS England and NHS Improvement on deploying people safely.
• Workforce supply and deployment – This page now links to a new paper from Health Education England, which sets out a process for HEE’s national and regional teams to facilitate medical workforce planning and deployment in support of service delivery in other regions.
• Visa extensions and changes to the application process – New detail has been added to clarify that doctors, nurses and paramedics who are eligible for the one-year visa extension will not be expected to apply for it.
• Overseas skilled supply – New FAQs have been added about staff who are stuck overseas and arrangements for bringing staff back from overseas.
• FAQs on medical and dental workforce issues – New information has been added about the temporary suspension of annual appraisals for dentists.
• Mental wellbeing – This page has been updated with recommendations from the British Psychological Society on three phases of support that employers should make their staff aware of during the pandemic.
• Supporting our most vulnerable people – This page has been updated to reflect the most up-to-date government guidance on shielding and protecting staff who are extremely vulnerable due to underlying health conditions.
• Occupational health – This page now contains updated information on how to access a framework to buy additional occupational health and employee assistance programme capacity, to supplement in-house teams.

Updated apprenticeship guidance – NHS Employers
Updated government guidance and FAQs for employers and training providers sets out the support available to help the continuation and completion of apprenticeships.

Update on End Point Assessments for nursing workforce apprenticeships – NHS Employers  
The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IFATE) has announced further flexibilities for certain apprenticeships in response to the impact of COVID-19.

Updates from HSJ 

• Region developing new mask factory to tackle ‘Wild West’ PPE procurement NHS procurement chiefs in Greater Manchester are close to completing a deal for a new factory to produce millions of face masks every month in a bid to improve personal protective equipment stocks across the public sector.
• Exclusive: Turkish delivery contained just a few hours’ worth of gowns Only a fraction of the gowns expected in a much-publicised shipment from Turkey actually arrived in the UK on Wednesday, HSJ understands.
• ‘Exceptionally urgent’ to secure kit used to treat critically ill covid patients The availability of dialysis equipment used to treat more than a quarter of ventilated covid-19 patients has reached “critical” levels, HSJ has learned.
• Coronavirus deaths mapped: Manchester and Liverpool become pandemic focus HSJ’s unique analysis shows the spread of hospital deaths confirmed as coronavirus cases to date, by trust and area, as well as the regional growth trends.
• Apology after NHS sends thousands of dead people covid-19 warnings NHS Digital has apologised to families after sending letters to more than 10,000 deceased patients, warning them they were at extra risk of covid-19.
• Exclusive: deaths of NHS staff from covid-19 analysed The deaths of 119 NHS staff have been analysed by three leading clinicians. We present their findings here.
• ICS and CCG leader takes up national job A former clinical commissioning group leader who led the development of integrated care systems is taking up a national job representing NHS organisations.
• Thousands of extra deaths outside hospital not attributed to covid-19 There were 7,500 more deaths than usual in care homes and in people’s own homes over the two weeks to 10 April – only 1,500 of which have covid-19 recorded as a cause – new figures show.
• Hancock: Staff should be free to speak out over coronavirus concerns NHS staff should “feel free” to speak out about problems like protective equipment shortages, Matt Hancock has said, despite many having been warned not to do so.
• Newly opened Nightingale to remain empty for time being Patients will not be sent to the new Nightingale facility in Yorkshire for the time being, as the region’s existing hospitals continue to manage the surge in coronavirus cases.
• Trust appoints interim chief after covid-19 crisis hits recruitment plans A trust has appointed an interim chief executive after the coronavirus crisis meant it was unable to carry out a normal recruitment process for the permanent post.
• Coronavirus deaths mapped: 780 additional deaths reported HSJ’s unique analysis shows the spread of hospital deaths confirmed as coronavirus cases to date, by trust and area, as well as the regional growth trends.
• NHS data sharing failure ‘exasperating and could cause error’ Significant concerns about the NHS’ refusal to share data with councils have emerged in a letter from a leading council chief executive and clinical commissioning group accountable officer.