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In this Bulletin:
- Free PPE for Primary Care
- Shielding Guidance
- NHS COVID-19 App
- New COVID-19 E-learning on Recovery and Rehabilitation
- JCVI Advice on Priority Groups for COVID-19 Vaccine
- GP Referral to Community Pharmacist Consultation Service
- Network DES 2020/21 Service Requirements and Supporting Guidance
- Be Clear on Cancer Awareness Campaign
A) Free PPE for Primary Care
In line with the current provision of free PPE for social care, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) have confirmed that primary care will also receive free PPE. Further information will be available soon but providers must have registered on the PPE portal.
B) Shielding Guidance
Due to public confusion about the shielding guidance, NHSE has confirmed that unless Government policy changes again, from 5 October 2020 no one in England will be advised to shield. Areas subject to local lockdown restrictions are not automatically subject to shielding guidance, and the decision to introduce shielding advice is currently made on a case-by-case basis by Public Health England.
C) NHS COVID-19 App
The new NHS COVID-19 app is finally here!
Should health and care workers use the NHS COVID-19 app?
This question keeps cropping up and the answer is yes, health and care workers should use the NHS COVID-19 app in most cases. However, when staff are at work, e.g. behind a fixed Perspex (or equivalent) screen and are fully protected from other people (by wearing PPE), they should be adequately protected so should pause contact tracing on the app, but they must remember to turn contact tracing back on once they leave work.
Do GP Practices need to display the QR code?
NHS settings, including GP practices, are under no contractual obligation to display a code, but can do so if they wish. If you want to create a QR code for display in your Practice you can use this service, so that visitors can scan the QR code when they arrive using the NHS COVID-19 app.
D) New COVID-19 E-learning on Recovery and Rehabilitation
Clinicians who are dealing with people recovering from COVID-19 can now access one of four 20-minute e-learning sessions which cover breathlessness, exercise, cough, and fatigue, to help them support their Patients.
E) JCVI Advice on Priority Groups for COVID-19 Vaccine
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has recently published updated advice on the priority groups who will receive the COVID-19 vaccine. It will be given to people in the following priority order:
- Care home residents and staff
- People over 80
- Health and social care workers
- The rest of the population in order of age and risk
The advice will continue to be updated as more information is available on the effectiveness and safety of a COVID-19 vaccine.
F) GP Referral to Community Pharmacist Consultation Service
As part of a new referral pathway to the NHS Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (CPCS), GP practices across England will be able to refer Patients with minor illnesses asking for a GP appointment for a same day consultation with a community pharmacist. The NHS CPCS service specification and toolkit will be refreshed to include GP referrals and will be published in due course.
G) Network DES 2020/21 Service Requirements and Supporting Guidance
NHSE published an updated Network Contract DES Specification and the Network Contract DES Guidance a couple of weeks ago. The following delayed PCN DES service requirements apply from 1 October 2020:
- Structured medication reviews and medicines optimisation
- Early Cancer Diagnosis
- Enhanced Health in Care Homes
H) Be Clear on Cancer – Awareness Campaign
The ‘Blood in Pee’ campaign was introduced to educate and encourage people to present early with symptoms suggestive of bladder or kidney cancer to help promote early diagnosis. If you would like to share campaign materials with your Patients on your website and on social media, they can be downloaded here.