COVID-19 Primary Care bulletin

29 April 2020

COVID-19: today's round-up for primary care

Dear primary care colleagues,

Simon Stevens, NHS Chief Executive and Amanda Pritchard, NHS Chief Operating Officer have published a letter today outlining the second phase of NHS response to COVID-19. Please do take time to read this letter. The key points for primary care are:

• Ensure patients have clear information on how to access primary care services and are confident about making appointments (virtual or if appropriate, face-to-face) for current concerns.
• Complete work on implementing digital and video consultations, so that all patients and practices can benefit.
• Given the reduction of face-to-face visits, stratify and proactively contact their high-risk patients with ongoing care needs, to ensure appropriate ongoing care and support plans are delivered through multidisciplinary teams. In 8 particular, proactively contact all those in the ‘shielding’ cohort of patients who are clinically extremely vulnerable to COVID-19, ensure they know how to access care, are receiving their medications, and provide safe home visiting wherever clinically necessary.
• To further support care homes, the NHS will bring forward a package of support to care homes drawing on key components of the Enhanced Care in Care Homes service and delivered as a collaboration between community and general practice teams. This should include a weekly virtual ‘care home round’ of residents needing clinical support.
• Make two-week wait cancer, urgent and routine referrals to secondary care as normal, using ‘advice and guidance’ options where appropriate.
• Deliver as much routine and preventative work as can be provided safely including vaccinations immunisations, and screening.

Our next general practice webinar is taking place tomorrow where we will use the whole hour to answer your questions as best we can. We do hope you can join us from 5pm.

We would like to understand the current wellbeing of the primary care workforce, and invite you to take part in a short survey undertaken by the Institute for Employment Studies to support this and to support the wider evaluation of the #LookingAfterYouToo primary care coaching offer. The survey will take no longer that 5 minutes to complete and will contribute to our ongoing response to support your wellbeing.

Nikki and Ed

General practice 

COVID-19 Clinical Assessment Service (CCAS)

Following our appeals for help in the last few weeks, we’re hugely grateful to hundreds of GPs who have come forward and offered to work on the COVID-19 Clinical Assessment Service, which supports NHS111.

Over 500 GPs have now made it through the onboarding process and are set up to provide care to patients. Many thanks to these doctors for their work, which has helped support both patients and local practices over the last few weeks.

We are aware that the process has, at times, been tricky and have been working hard to make it simpler and easier.

Matching GPs to local needs

As the pandemic continues and as we start to look towards the recovery period, we need to ensure that CCAS is appropriately staffed. It will become increasingly important to ensure the right capacity is available in local systems to meet the increased need for frontline care over the coming months. We are therefore encouraging local practices, CCGs, federations and local medical committees (LMCs) to explore how they can best make use of additional GP capacity to meet ongoing patient’s needs. GPs coming forward include locums, salaried GPs and partners, and previously retired GPs who have been away from practice for varying lengths of time.

The timescale for GPs to be deployed into any new role that they agree to take on will vary, based on local requirements.  At whatever point GPs are asked to deploy in their new role, whether this is to offer support immediately or further into the recovery period, their time and commitment are hugely valued.

Online consultation service available via the NHS App

Online consultation is now available within the NHS App at around a quarter of GP practices with the integration of the eConsult service. The ability to triage patients using an online consultation system is critical during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients can use this forms-based service to request GP advice without booking an appointment. eConsult is set to be the first of many suppliers providing online consultation services within the NHS App, which acts as a platform for innovation and a front door to many different digital health services, offering patients choice and greater control of their health and care. Find out more about the NHS App here.

Community pharmacy

New content for in-pharmacy screens

We have produced a new rotating Gif for use on in-pharmacy screens that contains key messages to the public during the pandemic. Where possible please can all pharmacies download and use to give a consistent message to the community.

Dentistry 

The most recent guidance letter and standard operating procedure for oral health professionals is available on our website.

Optometry

The most recent guidance letter for optical staff is available on our website.

Additional information

Government launches plan to tackle loneliness during coronavirus lockdown

The Government has launched a major effort to tackle loneliness and social isolation during the COVID-19 outbreak and period of social distancing. #Let’sTalkLoneliness

COVID–19 Patient Notification System (CPNS): Letter from Professor Keith Willett

Professor Keith Willet, NHS Strategic Incident Director has written to Trusts about the change in reporting to CPNS.

CPNS has been the single reporting route for the reporting of COVID-19 related deaths since 24 March. To date, this has recorded hospital deaths where patients have had a positive test result for COVID-19.

From 28 April 2020 onwards, there will be a change to reporting, to include the reporting of death where there is an absence of a COVID-19 positive test result but where COVID-19 is documented as a direct or underlying cause of death on part 1 or part 2 of the death certification process.

Medical support worker guide and job description

This document helps healthcare providers to deploy Medical Support Workers into primary, community and secondary care to support the medical workforce during the prolonged major incident caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dates for your diary 

Upcoming webinars

• 30 April, 4.30-5pm: Video Consultations: using accuRx throughout COVID-19 for EMIS and SystmOne practices
• 30 April, 5-6pm: primary care webinar with Nikki and Ed with a focus on an extended Question and Answer session 
• 7 May, 11am: homeless health webinar

Nikki and Ed's Link of the Day

NHS Confederation - Equality diversity and inclusion at the time of crisis and beyond