Covid19 Daily Briefing 24 April
**Email sent on behalf of the LMC, Clinical Directors and NHS Calderdale CCG**
Dear All
Updated Summary Documents
Secondary Care Specialist Support Summary Document 24.04.2020
Breast Clinic Message
The new patient diagnostic breast clinic is OPEN and accepting new referrals for fast track and symptomatic patients. Please refer in the usual way. Referrals for bilateral breast pain, under 25s and gynaecomastia should still be delayed if appropriate.
Urgent Care Message from Dr Farrukh Javid, Calderdale CCG Lead GP for Urgent Care
We are advising primary care colleagues that those patients diagnosed with Covid-19 related pneumonia and discharged into the community should undergo follow-up chest x-ray at 12 weeks, rather than the usual 6 week window. This is to ensure all radiographic changes have resolved and is on the advice of our radiology colleagues at CHFT.
Please direct any further queries to Dr Purav Desai, clinical director for medical specialities at CHFT
NEW - End of Life Summary Document 24.04.2020
All collated into a single document for ease, around end of life care
Self-declared – High Risk COVID19 Patient lists
Both EMIS and TPP have provided patient lists for practices to review by 28th April 2020
EMIS Guidance can be found on EMIS NOW
SystmOne Guidance please see the notice board dated Tuesday 21st April for a summary and document guidance.
Safeguarding
Domestic Abuse support: Message from Dr Susi Harris, Calderdale CCG Named GP for Safeguarding Adults
Please see the attached message about supporting patients at risk of domestic abuse and some suggested wording for text messages out to your patients at this time. Thank you.
The attached IRIS guide for practices gives advice for staff on speaking to DA victims safely.
Homelessness briefing
Please see attached briefing from Adult Safeguarding.
Discharge to Care Homes
You will be aware that Care Homes are under pressure at the moment and in Calderdale there are currently 7 homes with Covid-19 positive residents. This number has reduced this week. National guidance has also been issued Covid-19 – admission of people in care homes (Updated 20th April 2020) and Coronavirus (COVID-19): hospital discharge service requirements (Updated 20th April 2020). To ensure that discharges from hospital back to care homes are managed appropriately and reduce risk of infection into the homes a process has been agreed for Calderdale and is attached above. (Discharge Guidance for Testing to Care Homes)
Work is ongoing to provide additional support from the healthcare system to care homes and this includes 2 care home support teams that are working closely with Quest to provide additional multi-disciplinary support into specific homes where there are challenges. This includes therapy support.
Residents medical conditions can change quickly and therefore it is recommended that all practices with patients in care homes should carry out a review of their patients. This can be undertaken through video consultation – if there are specific technology challenges to this please let the CCG now through Transformation and this can be looked into. Some practices have adopted a virtual ward round approach to ensure that patients are reviewed every 28 days.
COVID-19: Increased Patient Information for health and care professionals
Please see attached guidance which has just been released, which includes specific instructions for GPs
This letter explains the temporary changes being made to GP Connect and to the Summary Care Record to enable this, and the actions you need to take.
This will be added to our website https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/publication/preparedness-letters-for-general-practice/ shortly.
Reminder that in the C0264 GP Preparedness Letter 14 April 2020 , practices were asked to increase their direct booking appointments from 111:
increase the minimum number of appointments that practices must make available for 111 direct booking: From the date of this letter until 30 June 2020, all practices in England must make available a minimum of 1 appointment per 500 patients for direct booking from 111.
Bank Holidays – we are expecting further information next week around the May bank holidays but as a reminder, here is the extract from C0264:
temporarily amend the definition of “core hours” so that it may include Good Friday and Easter Monday and bank holidays
Prioritisation of Sexual & Reproductive Health Services
The ADPH UK - COVID-19 guidance/ recommendations on the Prioritisation of Sexual & Reproductive Health Services has just been published, as four downloadable PDF docs. These are in line with the BHIVA, BASHH and FSRH contingency plan.
Kate Horne, Public Health
FREE Podcast Training & Q&A Webinars: Auscultation and Respiratory Assessment
Please see attached details of the free podcast training and follow up Q&A Webinars (4 sessions starting 27th April)
Message from Yorkshire Smoke Free Calderdale – request for action: text message to registered smokers at your practices
As we can’t run our face to face clinics we are continuing to take referrals and offering weekly telephone support as well as requesting stop smoking medication via our new e-voucher scheme . This is working well and providing the support the patients need.
We are also trying to contact smokers during this time of crisis to remind them of the importance around stopping smoking and the impact smoking can have on someone suffering with COVID-19.
Please consider sending a standard text to go out to the registered smokers at your practice to remind them there is support to stop smoking available during this time and that it can greatly impact their health.
The team have provided the following suggested text but we are aware a number of practices also provide their own stop smoking service, so please also include details of your own services too:
Smoking tobacco is known to damage the lungs. Evidence shows COVID-19 virus attacks the respiratory system. Smokers with COVID-19 are 14 times more likely to develop severe disease. In light of this there has never been a better time to quit. Call Yorkshire Smokefree Calderdale for phone support today on 01422 262373. (or alternatively, contact ***** practices stop smoking support on *******).
CHFT Updated Loan Store Numbers
Loan Store main number 01422 26 1399
Loan Store Warehouse 01422 26 1393
Loan Store 01422 26 1346 | 01422 26 1395 | 01422 26 1398
Andrew Mould | Facilities Manager, Transport, Equipment and Security Services | Calderdale and Huddersfield Solutions Ltd
Tel: 01484 355318/01422 261396 mobile: 0771 730 5761 Email: andrew.mould@cht.nhs.uk
Update from Halifax Opportunities Trust