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Showing results for tags 'Infection control'.
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Content ArticleEuropean governments hope that contact tracing apps can allow them to ease lockdowns. But much work must be done at both national and EU level before restrictions can be eased. There are growing calls for lifting lockdowns across European countries. Austria and Denmark have already announced plans to open schools. But ending lockdowns without mass testing and contact tracing firmly in place will be very dangerous, as COVID-19 is far more infectious than its predecessors, like SARS. Even with rigorous testing and contact tracing, some curbs on social contact will be needed, and lockdown measures will need to be eased step by step. Once it has been shown that restrictions can be eased while containing the spread of the disease, there will still need to be co-ordination at the EU level to allow travel between member-states. Without trust in each other’s exit strategies, countries will be wary of opening up. In this article, John Springford, Deputy Director of the Centre for European Reform, stresses that mass testing and contact tracing apps must be in place before lockdowns can be eased in Europe - and that the EU has an important role to play.
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News Article
Coronavirus: Restarting NHS services will be a major challenge, warn experts
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Restarting NHS services will be an even greater challenge than coping with the first coronavirus infections, health think tanks and hospital chiefs have warned. Since March, the NHS has freed up more than 33,000 beds to prepare for an influx of COVID-19 patients needing intensive care, but since the peak of infection health chiefs have worried that delays to care were harming patients. Around 46,000 so-called excess deaths have been recorded during the pandemic, as compared against a five-year average. Around a quarter of these are believed to be unrelated to COVID-19. In a joint statement, the Health Foundation, Nuffield Trust and King’s Fund think tanks have said it could take months before the NHS and social care are able to fully restart. All three bodies will be giving evidence to the Commons health committee on Thursday, where they will warn about the impact on the health service’s “exhausted staff” and demand action to help care homes – which are now at the frontline in the fight against coronavirus. The experts will stress the need for the NHS to begin planning for a second peak of infections, especially if it comes in winter – when the service is usually overwhelmed by seasonal flu. They will warn about concerns over how the NHS manages the risk of infection, with the need for more protective equipment, social distancing and increased testing. This will “severely limit capacity for many months”, they said. Read full story Soruce: The Independent, 14 May 2020 -
Content ArticleLoosening the lockdown too much now will not do our health, the economy, or people’s livelihoods any good, argue KK Cheng and Wenjie Gong in this article published in The BMJ Opinion.
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Content Article
COVID-19 Narrative Seventeen: Routes out of lockdown
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Exit strategies
In this article, Dr David Nabarro and John Atkinson discuss the routes out of the coronavirus lockdown. Quality information is at a premium. Decisions will be based on data about the spread of the virus disaggregated by locality. Numbers of people becoming infected will need to be factored into decisions. The goal is to understand the extent of transmission and whether the rate of increase in people infected is starting to reduce. The sequence for easing a lockdown will vary from place to place. Decision-makers will be considering multiple factors when deciding how best to do this. Here they explore the questions decision-makers will be asking and indicate some of the factors they might consider. -
Content ArticleThis infographic designed by Public Health England shows how to remove personal protective equipment safely.
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Content ArticleThis inforgraphic by Public Health England shows the correct order to put on personal protective equipment .
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Content ArticleThe government's plan to rebuild the UK for a world with COVID-19. Inevitably, parts of this plan will adapt as we learn more about the virus. The government will set up ‘dedicated team’ to look for innovative ways for the NHS to continue treating people for coronavirus, while also providing care for non-covid health issues. It outlines a phased recovery approach and the roadmap to lift restrictions step by step.
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News Article
Report on the coronavirus contact tracing app published
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The Joint Committee on Human Rights has published a report on the contact tracing app, concluding that if effective, the app could pave the way out of the current lockdown restrictions and help prevent the spread of coronavirus, but there are significant concerns regarding surveillance and the impact on other human rights which must be addressed first. Last month the Committee launched their inquiry into the Government’s response to Covid-19: human rights implications. Following this, the Committee has produced a Reportthat outlines the key actions the Government must take to ensure that the app respects human rights including the right to privacy and non-discrimination at the same time as enabling individuals to move around more freely whilst helping to prevent the spread of the virus. The Chair of the Committee, Harriet Harman MP, said: “Assurances from Ministers about privacy are not enough. The Government has given assurances about protection of privacy so they should have no objection to those assurances being enshrined in law." "The contact tracing app involves unprecedented data gathering. There must be robust legal protection for individuals about what that data will be used for, who will have access to it and how it will be safeguarded from hacking. Parliament was able quickly to agree to give the Government sweeping powers. It is perfectly possible for parliament to do the same for legislation to protect privacy.” Read full story Source: www.parliament.uk, 7 May 2020 -
Content ArticleInternational Council of Nurses (ICN) CEO, Howard Catton, expresses his concern for healthcare workers rising COVID-19 infections and deaths due to lack of personal protective equipment. He also speaks of the lack of data which should be collected systematically by governments to better monitor and control the spread of COVID-19 among healthcare workers.
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News Article
New face cover for cancer test patients to stop COVID-19 spread
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Surgeons have invented a new device to make it safer to diagnose some cancers during the coronavirus pandemic. Most nose and throat investigations have been cancelled due to increased risks of medics contracting COVID-19 via patients' coughs and sneezes. Two consultants have developed a device that clips over patients' masks and protects front-line workers. The West Midlands-based doctors want to raise £50,000 they say is enough to make devices for use across the NHS. Chris Coulson, a consultant ear, nose and throat surgeon at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, said procedures involving an endoscope to examine the nose or throat were known to put clinicians at a significantly increased risk of contracting coronavirus. "When clinicians carry out a nasendoscopy it can make patients cough, sneeze, and splutter - which risks spreading the virus to doctors, nurses and therapists," he said. His company endoscope-i Ltd, co-founded with Ajith George, a consultant head and neck surgeon at University Hospitals North Midlands, has now developed the SNAP. It clicks on to a conventional surgical mask, creating a hole through which the clinician can pass an endoscope directly into a patient's nose. A valve means, despite there being a hole, any coughs, sneezes or splutters are caught within the mask. Mr George said: "If we can raise the money needed to produce the devices, we can keep looking after patients and ensure that diagnosis and treatment is not delayed." Read full story Source: BBC News, 11 May 2020 -
Content ArticleNew Brunswick is the first province in Canada to begin relaxing the restrictions it put in place to control the spread of the novel coronavirus. On 24 April, Premier Blaine Higgs was joined by other political parties in announcing the immediate reduction of safety restrictions. It was an act of cross-party support in response to the COVID-19 pandemic which has seen Higgs invite the fellow party leaders to form an all-party cabinet committee. The decision to relax the restrictions came as New Brunswick experienced a sixth straight day of no new cases. Read their four-step plan.
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Content ArticleKerala is a state in India. The Government of Kerala set up an Expert Committee on Strategy to look at easing lockdown restrictions and has produced the attached report.
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News Article
Testing and contact tracing: a role for local leaders
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Local authorities must be at the heart of contact tracing because COVID-19 is best understood as a pattern of local outbreaks rather than a national pandemic, says Sir Chris Ham and Robin Tuddenham in an HSJ article. Community testing and contact tracing represent our greatest hope for managing the risks to health of COVID-19 until a vaccine and effective treatments become available. Experts in infectious disease base their understanding of this on previous pandemics, and the experience of countries like South Korea and Germany. Work is underway at pace to resume contact tracking and tracing in England. It is understood that this programme will begin in earnest from 18 May following a pilot on the Isle of Wight. This work is a core part of Matt Hancock’s five-point plan for combating COVID-19, in support of some relaxation of lockdown anticipated soon. Whilst the pace is understandable, the methods and approach taken are top down, lack an effective role for key regional co-ordination through the Integrated Care Systems/Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships and Local Resilience Forums, and risk marginalising the essential skills of local authorities, GPs and the voluntary and community sector in place, according to Ham amd Tuddenham. Read full story Source: HSJ, 5 May 2020 -
Content Article
Working as a hospital cleaner during coronavirus
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Blogs
A blog published in the Metro from a London hospital cleaner on how he is trying to keep himself safe during the coronavirus. "There are always fears you're going to get coronavirus but I try not to overthink it too much". -
Content ArticleThis report, from the International Long Term Care Policy Network, provides examples of the policy and practice measures that have been adopted internationally to prevent COVID-19 infections in care homes and to mitigate their impact. This is a 'live' document that will be updated regularly and expanded as more information becomes available.
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News Article
‘Restoration’ of non-covid NHS services gets under way
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The government has announced that the “restoration of other NHS services” will start today on a “hospital-by-hospital” basis. Health and social care secretary Matt Hancock in his daily ministerial coronavirus briefing announced the resumption of healthcare which has been suspended due to coronavirus will begin today. He said the initial focus would be on the most urgent services, citing cancer and mental health as examples. They will be reintroduced on a locally decided basis, depending on the level the virus is currently impacting different areas and trusts, which varies widely, and how easily they can reintroduce the work, he said. Mr Hancock, asked about the plan by HSJ during the briefing, indicated that a large-scale return would be enabled because the government is setting out to avoid a so-called second peak of the virus spreading, so the NHS will not need to keep tens of thousands of extra beds free in readiness. Experts and governments around the globe are concerned about the prospect of further peaks of the virus spread as they move to release distancing measures. Further NHS England guidance on the plan is expected later this week. Read full story Source: HSJ, 27 April 2020 -
News Article
Coronavirus: Eyes could be contagious for weeks, study finds
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The coronavirus can linger in patients’ eyes for several weeks and could act as a way of spreading the COVID-19 disease, according new study from Italy. Scientists at Italy’s National Institute for Infectious Diseases hospital in Rome studied the symptoms of an unnamed 65-year-old woman who developed the virus after travelling from the Chinese city of from Wuhan. When the woman developed conjunctivitis – an eye infection causing redness and itchiness – doctors decided to take regular swabs from her eye. They discovered the virus remained present in “ocular samples” up to 21 days after she was admitted to hospital. The team said the findings, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, indicated that eye fluids from coronavirus patients “may be a potential source of infection”. The study authors said: “These findings highlight the importance of control measures, such as avoiding touching the nose, mouth, and eyes and frequent hand washing.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 24 April 2020 -
Content ArticleThe National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce supports Australia’s healthcare professionals with continually updated, evidence-based clinical guidelines. This website includes: guidelines decision Flowcharts research under review.
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Content ArticleThis webpage from Asthma UK explains how to cut the risk of getting coronavirus and what happens to your usual asthma care.
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Content ArticleIn a crisis, normal processes must often be modified to ensure that the best possible care is provided while ensuring the safety of patients and personnel despite limited resources. ECRI has collated resources that include preparation checklists, patient handling checklists, equipment lists, lists of alternative suppliers, recommendations for patient care equipment such as ventilators, and recommendations for infection control.
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Content Article
Midwifery during COVID-19: A personal account
Anonymous posted an article in Blogs
I am a case loading midwife, working during the coronavirus pandemic. This is my personal account of what we are doing in my area to keep our women and ourselves safe, and the barriers we are facing.- Posted
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Content Article
COVID-19: How to work safely in care homes
PatientSafetyLearning Team posted an article in Guidance
Government guidance for those working in care homes providing information on how to work safely during this period of sustained transmission of COVID-19. -
Content ArticleThe UK IPC Guidance has been updated. This takes into account the latest assessment of the scientific evidence, and also the feedback from local providers on the ongoing impact on capacity that IPC measures are having.
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Content ArticleThis is the written transcript and the video recording of the Health and Social Care Committee meeting that took place on Friday 17 April on the topic of: Management of the Coronavirus Outbreak. Witness(es): Dr Alison Pittard, Dean, Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine; Dame Donna Kinnair, Chief Executive and General Secretary, Royal College of Nursing; Professor Anthony Costello, Professor, UCL Institute for Global Health Witness(es): Matt Hancock, Secretary of State, Department for Health and Social Care; Jonathan Van-Tam, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England, Department for Health and Social Care
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Content ArticleThis letter template was created by Maternity Action. It can be used by pregnant women to request a risk assessment in relation to their job and the risk of infection from COVID-19.
