Tag: HSJ

Covid 19

Current awareness updates

Original Research

Factors influencing self-harm thoughts and behaviours over the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK: Longitudinal analysis of 49 324 adults.
Paul E. British Journal of Psychiatry 2022;220(1):31-37.
[Conclusions: Findings suggest that a significant portion of UK adults may be at increased risk for self-harm thoughts and behaviours during the pandemic. Given the likelihood that the economic and social consequences of the pandemic will accumulate, policy makers can begin adapting evidence-based suicide prevention strategies and other social policies to help mitigate its consequences.]

COVID-19: stepdown of infection control precautions and discharging patients to home settings.
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA); 2022.
[17 January 2022: Updated to reflect change in isolation period in hospitals from 14 to 10 days for cases and contacts of cases of COVID-19, as well as clarification of isolation period for severely immunocompromised patients.]

COVID-19: management of staff and exposed patients and residents in health and social care settings.
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA); 2022.
[17 January 2022: Updated to reflect change in isolation period in hospitals from 14 to 10 days for cases and contacts of cases of COVID-19 and includes new changes to self-isolation periods for staff in health and care settings.]

COVID-19: infection prevention and control (IPC)
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA); 2022.
[17 January 2022: Updated to reflect change in isolation period in hospitals from 14 to 10 days for cases and contacts of cases of COVID-19.]

Preventing and controlling outbreaks of COVID-19 in prisons and places of detention.
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA); 2022.
[17 January 2022: Updated information on: ending self-isolation for prisoners/detainees and staff who test positive for COVID-19; testing information for staff and prisoners/detainees who are identified as a contact; return to work criteria for staff who test positive for COVID-19 or who are identified as a contact; visitors to prisons.]

Daily Insight: Vax to the future.
HSJ: Health Service Journal (Daily Insight) 2022;:7031723.
[The expiry date on some batches of the Pfizer covid vaccine supplies has been extended to 45 days, following concerns that large quantities would be wasted. Also: LSE research finds no significant relationship between the number of managers or the amount spent on management and the quality of NHS hospital services. 18 January.]





Covid 19

Current awareness updates

COVID-19: infection prevention and control (IPC).
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA); 2021.
[November 2021 Updates: 1) Guidance broadened to include seasonal respiratory infections; 3 COVID-19 specific pathways removed; section on the hierarchy of controls added; physical distancing advice updated. 2) Updated to clarify text on aerosol generating procedures. 3) Dental appendix broadened to include seasonal respiratory infections; 3 COVID-19 specific pathways removed and replaced with respiratory and non-respiratory pathways.]

COVID-19 rapid guideline: managing COVID-19
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2021.
[In November, NICE added a new recommendation on ivermectin.]

Daily Insight: Another test for NHS staff.
HSJ: Health Service Journal (Daily Insight) 2021;:7031436.
[A letter sent by Chris Whitty, Ruth May and Susan Hopkins has strengthened expectations on NHS staff who have just returned from abroad. NHS workers returning from any non red-list country must have a negative PCR test before returning to work. Also: New guidance has recommended that trusts relax the segregation of patients according to covid-19 risk. There is likely to be a developing picture on infection control guidance over the next few weeks in light of the Omicron variant. 30 November.]

Frequently asked questions: Demonstrating Covid-19 and vaccination status.
House of Commons Library; 2021.
[This briefing paper provides answers to frequently asked questions about demonstrating Covid-19 status (otherwise called Covid-19 status certification) and use of the NHS Covid Pass in England.]

Covid-19 status certification.
House of Commons Library; 2021.
[Covid-19 status certification (also referred to as a “vaccine passport”) has been proposed as a means of reducing the risk of transmitting the Covid-19 virus in a number of settings. This briefing explores the Government’s policy on certification. It also provides discussion on the scientific evidence and other issues associated with the use of certification.]

Responding to violence against women and children during COVID-19: impact on service provision, strategies and actions in the WHO European Region (2021).
World Health Organization (WHO); 2021.
[A new report published by WHO/Europe shows that helplines providing support to women and children experiencing violence saw a spike in calls during the first 9 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The data in the new report was collected between January and September 2020, a time in which millions of people in the WHO European Region were confined to their homes because of lockdowns or other restrictive measures.]

UK vaccine response to the Omicron variant: JCVI advice.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); 2021.
[Advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) in response to the emergence of the Omicron variant. This statement sets out the JCVI’s advice on extending the UK COVID-19 vaccination programme to offer booster doses to adults aged 18 to 39 years, and second doses to children and young people aged 12 to 15 years.]

Covid 19

Current awareness updates

Daily Insight: Covid can’t peak too soon.
HSJ: Health Service Journal (Daily Insight) 2021;:7030598.
[Confirmed covid cases in the community fell again on Tuesday, offering further hope that the current wave could have peaked. Most experts are highly cautious about saying so – there is likely to be further growth following ‘freedom day’. Also: In the Cheshire and Merseyside ICS, the nine local authorities have issued a series of “red lines” and pre-conditions to health service leaders. 28 July.]

Daily Insight: Covid puts one in 10 beds to sleep.
HSJ: Health Service Journal (Daily Insight) 2021;:7030631.
[A major hospital trust has made its highest number of bed closures “for many years” due to covid staffing pressures. Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals Trust lost 933 bed days in the first week of June due to staff testing positive for covid or being required to isolate. Also: Latest figures show just 3 per cent of A&E attendances nationally are ‘booked’ through the 111 First service. And Healthwatch England says the NHS has not done enough to publicise this new service. 3 August.]

New study into COVID-19 vaccine dose interval for pregnant women.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); 2021.
[The Preg-CoV clinical trial has been launched to help determine optimal gap between doses as well as explore potential side-effects in more detail. Research shows pregnant women more likely to become seriously ill from COVID-19 and 98% of those in hospital due to COVID-19 are unvaccinated.]

Coronavirus: the consequences for mental health.
Mind; 2021.
[This research with almost 12,000 people found that those with mental health problems report an increase in the severity of challenges they’re facing now and concerns about the future. The authors call for services to be ready for the increase in severity of people’s mental health problems, and to take into account the trauma that people have experienced over the past year and how this might affect the support they need.]

Coronavirus: Adult social care key issues and sources.
House of Commons Library; 2021.
[House of Commons Library research Briefing updated 23 July 2021. An overview of key issues facing the adult social care sector during the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, with links to some of the key official guidance for the sector.]

Coronavirus and the social impacts of ‘long COVID’ on people’s lives in Great Britain: 7 April to 13 June 2021.
Office for National Statistics (ONS); 2021.
[Indicators from the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey covering the period 7 April to 13 June 2021 to understand the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on people by their self-reported long COVID-19.]

Evidence Updates

Keeping up to date with current awareness

Update on COVID-19 pandemic.
BMJ Best Practice; 2020.

Cycling to work lowers risk of illness and death compared to driving.
NIHR Evidence; 2020.
[People who cycle to work are at lower risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and death than those who drive. This is seen across all occupational groups and suggests that cycling to work could benefit people from all economic backgrounds. If fewer people are able to travel by public transport due to social distancing, measures to make cycling easier and safer could improve the nation’s health.]

Rehabilitation for adults with complex psychosis.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2020.
[This guideline covers mental health rehabilitation for adults with complex psychosis. It aims to ensure people can have rehabilitation when they need it and promotes a positive approach to long-term recovery. It includes recommendations on organising rehabilitation services, assessment and care planning, delivering programmes and interventions, and meeting people’s physical healthcare needs.]

Face-to-face or remote consultations: supporting you to make safe decisions about patient contact.
Chartered Society of Physiotherapy; 2020.
[Guidance and advice on implementation from the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists.This framework provides you with a pathway to interpret national guidance and adhere to the legal, regulatory and professional requirements that govern safe physiotherapy practice.]

Daily Insight: Inspectors or superspreaders?
Health Services Journal (HSJ); 2020.
[Latest stories and debate in health policy and leadership. The decision not to include CQC inspectors in regular asymptomatic covid testing could turn them into “super-spreaders,” unions have warned. The Infection and Prevention Society, however, has said inspectors are not likely to be put at significant risk.]

Remember to sign up to KnowledgeShare for research personalised to your field of work. Complete the registration form and send it to Academic.Library@lancashirecare.nhs.uk

KnowledgeShare-sign-up-formDownload