Summary
Government must take a cautious and evidence-based approach to exiting the pandemic, factoring in six key elements for a fail-safe exit strategy.
Content
Key points
- The government is expected to publish its COVID-19 exit plan on 21 February. This comes a month earlier than initially scheduled and is expected to lift existing restrictions – including the requirement to isolate after testing positive – in England from 24 February.
- Given the continued high prevalence of the Omicron variant, and pressures on services, this plan must represent a cautious and carefully planned exit if the NHS is to continue to concentrate on delivering the full range of care that people value and expect.
- A survey of NHS Confederation members, which asked what elements of the plan should be maintained, highlighted the importance of prevention and limiting transmission. Over 90 per cent of more than 300 health leaders who responded showed strong support for the continued provision of free tests for key workers and the public, as well as retaining the use of masks in healthcare settings.
- Around three-quarters of respondents said that they would be against ending the compulsory self-isolation period. There was over 80 per cent support for the Office for National Statistics survey to continue in order to monitor case levels and enable the NHS to plan accordingly, should infections increase rapidly, or a new variant appear.
- In addition to these important preventative measures, the government’s exit plan must be accompanied by unambiguous messaging and guidance for the NHS and the public and a preparedness plan for future waves or even pandemics. This should include maintaining the necessary infrastructure to be able to rapidly ramp up COVID-19 measures and capacity, in areas such as diagnostics capacity.
NHS Confederation: A cautious exit: healthcare leaders’ views on the route to living with COVID-19 (18 February 2022)
https://www.nhsconfed.org/publications/cautious-exit-leaders-views-living-COVID19
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