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Living Guide

The Living Guide and linked documents are archived and are no longer being updated (last updated April 2021). Our monthly newsletter and website continue to provide updates on Covid-19 and many other issues.

Continuing to provide essential non-Covid-19 services introduction

Previous viral outbreaks have demonstrated that morbidity and mortality associated with reduced access to care can be of equal, if not greater, significance than the impact of the infection itself.

Attendances at emergency departments and two-week wait referrals have fallen significantly, and hospital colleagues are telling us that people, both with and without Covid-19 symptoms, are delaying accessing care leading to very poor outcomes for some, including children.

This is partly a result of public anxiety, with people staying at home too long with symptoms.

It is vital that we do not compound the problem inadvertently with our own messaging to patients. Where clinically necessary, and in the appropriate clinical setting, we should continue to examine people physically, taking the appropriate precautions, particularly where this could inform the diagnosis of an acute condition or risk of deterioration.

Documents related to this section