Operating framework for urgent and planned services within hospitals during Covid-19, NHS England

The NHS has created unprecedented surge capacity, including HDU and ITU, to treat and care for patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection. • The challenge now facing the NHS as it begins the second phase of its response to the outbreak is to maintain the capacity to provide high quality services for patients with COVID-19, whilst increasing other urgent clinical services and important routine diagnostics and planned surgery. • Loc al healthcare systems and individual providers have already started planning for this. A key objective in executing these plans must be to minimise the transmission of COVID-19 infection within hospitals, also referred to as hospital-onset infection or nosocomial transmission. • Delivery against t he national expectations and principles set out in this framework will require strong and focussed leadership from local healthcare systems, underpinned by excellent clinical judgment and patient communication.• Whilst this guidance is intentionally focussed on hospital settings, including acute, community and mental health, many of the principles will be relevant to other healthcare settings and connecting services, including ambulance, primary and community care.
Source: Current Awareness Service for Health (CASH) - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news