Latest rapid guidelines from NICE

• COVID-19 rapid guideline: critical care in adults [NG159], NICE (updated 29th April 2020)
  The purpose of this guideline is to maximise the safety of patients who need critical care during the COVID-19 pandemic, while protecting staff from infection. It will also enable services to make the best use of NHS resources.
  On 29 April 2020, we added an example to clarify the role of specialists in our recommendation on frailty assessment.
• COVID-19 rapid guideline: dialysis service delivery [NG160], NICE (updated 28th April 2020)
  The purpose of this guideline is to maximise the safety of patients on dialysis, while protecting staff from infection. It will also enable dialysis services to make the best use of NHS resources and match the capacity of dialysis services to patient needs if these become limited because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• COVID-19 rapid guideline: delivery of systemic anticancer treatments [NG161], NICE (updated 27th April 2020)
  The purpose of this guideline is to maximise the safety of patients with cancer and make the best use of NHS resources, while protecting staff from infection. It will also enable services to match the capacity for cancer treatment to patient needs if services become limited because of the COVID-19 pandemic. On 27 April 2020, we updated the 2 External 0 0 0 table of NHS England interim treatment regimens false https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng161/resources/ true false%> in line with new advice from NHS England and NHS Improvement, (updated from published date of 20th March 2020)

Latest Specialty Guidance from NHS England & NHS Improvement

Adult Critical Care: Clinical guide for use of anaesthetic machines to provide continuous invasive ventilatory support for adult patients during the coronavirus pandemic. 29 April 2020

Coronavirus (COVID-19): latest guidance for medicines safety – MHRA
Key MHRA advice and guidance issued so far on medicines safety and pharmacovigilance, including on reporting to the Yellow Card Scheme.

Novel coronavirus (Covid-19) standard operating procedure: running a medicines re-use scheme in a care home or hospice setting – Department of Health and Social Care. 
This standard operating practice gives guidance to care homes and hospices about using medicines labelled for one patient who no longer needs them for another patient.

Article published in British Journal of Healthcare Management by Karthikeyan Iyengar, Southport & Ormskirk Orthopaedics Dept. 
A brief guide to telephone medical consultation. Iyengar, K. and El-Nahas, W., 2020. British Journal of Healthcare Management, pp.1-3. In certain situations it may not be possible to undertake a ‘face-to-face’ clinical hospital consultation. This comment provides a brief guide to undertaking an effective telephone hospital consultation that evolved during the current coronavirus outbreak while delivering a trauma and orthopaedic outpatient service.

Latest COVID-19 guidance updates – NHS Employers 
See the most recent updates to the COVID-19 guidance for NHS workforce leaders. Preserving and protecting the health, safety and wellbeing of staff is critical for NHS organisations as they respond to the COVID-19 outbreak. It is essential that NHS organisations take every effort to support the physical and mental wellbeing of the workforce, to enable staff to stay healthy and protect themselves, colleagues, patients and families as we continue to deliver services through this challenging period

Advice for pregnant members of the anaesthesia and intensive care workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic – FCIM 
Throughout the pandemic, the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine, the Intensive Care Society, the Association of Anaesthetists and the Royal College of Anaesthetists have referred to guidance published by the RCOG. We recommend that pregnant members, their clinical managers and College tutors read this guidance document. What follows is not meant to replace this guidance but to interpret it for those working in anaesthesia and intensive care settings.

Coronavirus and older people – BGS 
This resourceseries brings together current advice from experts within the BGS relating to older people and the current COVID-19 pandemic. We will develop this series as the situation progresses.

Latest from HSJ 

• BREAKING: NHSE issues plan to restart urgent non-covid care NHS England has set out a six-week action plan and priority areas for the health services as it seeks to re-start a raft of non-coronavirus services.
• Hancock grants GCHQ powers over NHS IT systems The NHS must hand over information from its IT systems to the UK’s intelligence and security authority during the covid-19 pandemic after the agency was granted extra powers by Matt Hancock, HSJ can reveal.
• A&E overcrowding ‘unconscionable’ as services restart Major transformation is required to stop the return of “unacceptable and unconscionable” corridor waits and overcrowding in emergency departments as the NHS gears up to re-open services, a senior figure has warned.
• All hospital emergency patients to be tested for coronavirus A new coronavirus testing regime for patients being admitted to hospital has been outlined by NHS England, HSJ has learned.
• Physios make visa plea as NHS faces ‘tidal-wave’ of rehab Ministers are being urged to expand the automatic visa extension scheme to include physiotherapists with the NHS facing a “tidal wave” of rehabilitation work because of the covid-19 crisis, MPs and unions have warned.
• NHSX exploring coronavirus immunity passports NHSX is exploring the potential for creating “immunity passports” for members of the public who are thought to be immune to coronavirus, despite their use being a long way off, the organisation has said.
• NHS 111 gets new queuing system to handle coronavirus surge An overflow system has been added to NHS 111 to help deal with the “huge increase” in calls during the coronavirus pandemic.
• NHS managers must pass ‘situational test’ to qualify for covid death assurance plan The families of many NHS managers and other administrative staff will not be eligible to claim the government’s new £60,000 payout for workers who die from coronavirus, HSJ has established.
• Intensive care capacity must be permanently doubled, says Nightingale chief Intensive care capacity in London will be doubled on a permanent basis following the coronavirus pandemic, according to the chief executive of the city’s temporary Nightingale hospital.
• NHS told to slash invoice payments to a week NHS organisations have been told to pay for goods and services within seven days of receiving them, as regulators attempt to reassure suppliers and bolster their cash flows.
• Coronavirus deaths mapped: The North East’s struggle to recover 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.
• Manufacturers not liable for faults in rush produced ventilators NHS patients are being treated for covid-19 with ventilators for which the government has accepted legal liability from manufacturers over personal injury claims.
• Covid vulnerable patient list balloons by 500,000 The number of patients asked to “shield” themselves from coronavirus is expected to reach two million by the end of the month, with GPs being “overwhelmed with requests”.
• Coronavirus deaths mapped: North West’s recovery gathers pace 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.
• ‘Restoration’ of non-covid NHS services gets under way The government has announced that the “restoration of other NHS services” will start tomorrow on a “hospital-by-hospital” basis.
• Hancock ‘very worried’ at signs of rare covid-linked condition in children Matt Hancock is “very worried” about signs that a new coronavirus-linked syndrome may be emerging in children, which are being investigated “as a matter of urgency”, he has said.
• Insurance scheme to cover NHS staff who die from coronavirus The families of frontline NHS and social care workers who have died from coronavirus could get a pay out of £60,000, the government has announced.
• Regulator approves long-running merger plans Regulators have approved a merger between two foundation trusts after initially blocking the plans seven years ago.
• Coronavirus deaths mapped: North West’s recovery gather pace 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.
• Manufacturers not liable for new NHS ventilator faults NHS patients are being treated for covid-19 with ventilators for which the government has accepted legal liability from manufacturers over personal injury claims.

Statistics and data

• National Covid-19 surveillance report: 23 April 2020 (week 17)
• YouGov: Covid-19 – how are NHS staff coping?
• Transparency data – Department of Health and Social Care: senior officials’ business expenses and hospitality, 2018 to 2019
• The conversation: three charts showing where the coronavirus death rate is heading
• Potential coronavirus (Covid-19) symptoms reported through NHS Pathways and 111 online, week ending 26 April 2020