Serious Illness Care Program COVID-19 Response Toolkit – Ariadne Labs, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
The toolkit is anchored by the COVID-19 Conversation Guide for Outpatient Care. The guide will help clinicians engage in compassionate conversations with high-risk patients about how they can best protect themselves and help them understand what matters most to each patient in the context of COVID-19. It also prepares clinicians to acknowledge and respond to emotions during difficult, uncertain times and make recommendations about next steps.

Clinical guide for the management of palliative care in hospital during the coronavirus pandemic. Keeping the care in healthcare 27 March 2020, Version 1. https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2020/03/C0081-Speciality-guide-Palliative-care-and-coronavirus-FINAL-02.04.20.pdf

COVID-19 and Palliative, End of Life and Bereavement Care in Secondary Care. Role  of the specialty and guidance to aid care. 22March 2020. Collated for the Northern Care Alliance  NHS  Group and  the Association for Palliative  Medicine of Great Britain  and  Ireland. https://apmonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/COVID-19-and-Palliative-End-of-Life-and-Bereavement-Care-22-March-2020.pdf

COVID-19 Critical Care: Understanding and Application  – University of Edinburgh 
Learn the principles and practice of critical care to treat and care for critically ill patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

By the end of the course, you’ll be able to…

• Apply the current and evolving principles of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the care of COVID-19 patients.
• Apply evidence-based daily practices to care of the critically ill patient.
• Reflect critically on the complex elements required to achieve both self-awareness and self-compassion in a high-tension environment.
• Apply evidence-based principles of advanced organ support and monitoring to the COVID-19 critically ill patient.
• Develop a range of specialised self-caring practices

Consensus guidelines for managing the airway in children with COVID-19;
Highlighting differences in practice from adult guidelines.  (Guidelines from the Association of Anaesthetists, the Difficult Airway Society, the Intensive Care Society, the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine, the Royal College of Anaesthetists, Paediatric Intensive Care Society and Association of Paediatric Anaesthetists)

Airway management of patients with COVID-19 is high risk to staff and patients. Guidance has been published directed at adult practice. The vast majority of this guidance is also applicable to paediatric patients. This consensus statement provides advice for anaesthetists who undertake airway management in paediatric
patients suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19 and seeks to provide clarity where that guidance differs for paediatric patients. It is not directly relevant to neonatal practice in neonatal ICUs (NICUs). This document does not stand alone as advice but should be read with the adult advice.

COVID-19: who can employers obtain fast track DBS checks for? – NHS Employers
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) fast track checks can be applied for anyone being appointed into a role which is:

• involved with providing support during the COVID-19 pandemic (including where backfilling for pandemic-related illnesses) AND
• would normally be eligible for an enhanced with barred list check (i.e. are in a regulated activity as defined by the Safeguarding Vulnerable Group Act) – this includes both healthcare professionals that are registered with a professional regulatory body and other roles which are not regulated, such as hospital porters transporting patients.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) information leaflet – Department of Health and Social Care 
Leaflet on what to do to help stop the spread of coronavirus, including information on symptoms and government support.

NHS COVID-19 symptom checker launched – NHS England
This surveywill help the NHS understand more about how and where coronavirus (COVID-19) is affecting people currently. NHS England, NHSX and NHS Digital collaborated to develop the 2 External 0 0 0 govuk-link Coronavirus Status Checker false https://www.nhs.uk/coronavirus-status-checker true false%> to ask people with potential symptoms to complete the online questionnaire.

Age-friendly health systems design to address Covid-19 – Institute for Healthcare Improvement
This guidanceaims to help limit the exposure of older adults to COVID-19 by reducing their need to present to hospital, reducing hospitalisations and, if hospitalised or in post-acute or long-term care community, increase the rate of safe discharges.

Coronavirus: health and social care key issues and sources – House of Commons Library
This briefing paper provides an overview of key issues facing the NHS and social care services during the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, and links to official UK and international guidance and data. It also lists other reliable sources of information in the health and social care sector, including comment from organisations representing patients, staff and service providers.

Updated guidance on schools over Easter – NHS Employers
The Department for Education has produced some updated guidance encouraging childcare providers, schools and colleges to continue to look after critical workers’ children and vulnerable children throughout the Easter holidays.

Covid-19: A&E visits in England fall by 25% in week after lockdown – BMJ News
Attendances at emergency departments in England have fallen significantly since the covid-19 lockdown, sparking concern that some people may be harmed by not accessing treatment. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine said that the public should not be frightened of going to emergency departments after figures showed that they saw 89 584 attendances in the week after the lockdown (March 23-29), down 25% on the 120 356 seen the previous week.

Virtual smartcards to help give NHS staff faster access to hospital systems – Digitalhealth.net
A virtual smartcard and a streamlined system for physical cards which gives faster access to hospital systems has been given the green-light by NHS Digital.

Recent HSJ Coverage of Covid-19

• South East trusts told: send patients and staff to covid-surge hospital Around a quarter of the 3600 beds at the London Nightingale Hospital could be used for patients from Kent and Sussex, HSJ has learned.
• Oxygen supply problems ‘the new PPE’, warn hospital bosses Oxygen shortages and difficulties in expanding storage quickly are now a major problem for hospital bosses dealing with covid-19 patients, HSJ has been told.
• Coronavirus deaths mapped: Cumbria and North East now among hardest hit areas 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.
• Coronavirus deaths mapped: 555 further fatalities 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.

Statistics

• Potential Coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms reported through NHS Pathways and 111 online
• Emergency readmissions to hospital within 30 days of discharge
• Weekly all-cause mortality surveillance: 2019 to 2020
• Weekly national flu reports: 2019 to 2020 season
• Venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk assessment 2019/20