Living Guide

Ways of working

What is our new practice operating model?

• Operating a safe practice policy (updated 26.5.2021)
• RCGP guidance on workload prioritisation during Covid-19
• NHS England’s Standard Operating Procedure, Appendix 3: Online and video consultations (page 29)
• Safe and effective service delivery during the Covid-19 pandemic: practice check list (updated 1.5.2020)

Home visiting

• Requirement for home visiting during Covid-19 pandemic (updated 1.5.2020)

Supporting care homes

• Covid-19 and care homes (updated 16.11.2020)
• NHSE letter re: identifying a clinical lead for all care homes (issued 12.5.2020)
• PHE guidance: Admission and care of residents in a care home during Covid-19 (published 2.4.2020)

Hot hubs

Preparing a contingency plan for temporary closure of a practice

• Guide to practice closure consequent upon the impact of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic (updated 22.4.2020)

Personal protective equipment (PPE)

• PPE guidance (uploaded 8.4.2020)
• PPE Donning poster (uploaded 8.4.2020)
• PPE Doffing poster (uploaded 8.4.2020)

Safeguarding and domestic violence

Safeguarding and the role of primary care

• RCGP learning resource Covid-19 and Safeguarding (uploaded 27.10.20)

Resources to help you and your patients

• National Domestic Violence 24 hour Helpline: 0800 2000 247
• Safelives: specific resources for domestic abuse and Covid-19
• YoungMinds: supporting children and young people and their parents/carers with their mental health
• Guidance for coping with crying babies: ICON: Babies cry: You can cope
• Think families: an approach to support parents with mental health problems in improving child outcomes
• NSPCC helpline 0808800 5000
• Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) Covid and safeguarding hub
• Follow #COVIDSafeguarding via @NHSsafeguarding, who will be posting daily updates and key messages.
• Home Office guidance for victims of domestic abuse

Caring for patients with suspected Covid-19

Clinical course of Covid-19

• The clinical course of Covid-19 – what do we know? (updated 26.10.2020)

Assessment of the severity of Covid-19 infection

• BMJ article on Covid-19 history and exam
• NHS London Clinical Networks Respiratory resource pack (includes pathways defining patient cohorts)

Pulse oximetry guide to systems for remote monitoring

• Guide to using pulse oximeters during Covid-19 pandemic (updated 16.1.2021)
• Patient action plan for SpO2 monitoring

Triaging patients with Covid-19

Monitoring patients with Covid-19

• Monitoring of patients with suspected Covid-19 (updated 26.10.2020)

Referral/admission criteria for patients with Covid-19

Management of Covid-19 related pneumonia

• NICE: Covid-19 rapid guideline: critical care in adults
• NICE COVID-19 rapid guideline: critical care in adults flowchart
• Latest evidence from Oxford CEBM on differentiating between viral and bacterial pneumonia

Palliative care for patients with Covid-19 infection

• RCGP guidance on palliative care
• NICE guidance on palliative care
• NHS London resource pack
• NHS London EoL care clinical network guide from the London End of Life Care Clinical Network NHS England and Improvement

Antibody testing

Supporting patients following Covid-19 infection

Long Covid

• Long Covid (published 26.10.2020)

Managing other post-Covid-19 complications

• NHSE guidance on after-care needs of inpatients recovering from Covid-19

Meeting essential non-Covid-19 health needs

Principles

• Remote GP assessment pathway for patients during Covid-19 pandemic (updated 1.4.2020)

Remote examination

• Principles for supporting high quality video consultations in general practice during Covid-19 (Version 2, 20.8.2020)
• Feverpain score
• RCPCH guidance on treating acute tonsillitis (updated 27.3.2020)
• Paediatric remote assessment guidance
• Advice on how to establish a remote total triage model in general practice using online consultations (Version 3, 15.9.2020)
• Key principles for intimate clinical assessments undertaken remotely in the context of Covid-19 (Version 1, July 2020)
• GMC – remote consultations

Continuing to provide essential non-Covid-19 services

Workload prioritisation

• RCGP Guidance on workload prioritisation during Covid-19 (published 10.4.2020)

Non-acute GP services

• Non-acute essential care (updated 3.12.2020)
• Requirement for home visiting during Covid-19 pandemic (updated 26.10.2020)
• Monitoring for patients on warfarin (uploaded 7.4.2020)
• Safe switching from Warfarin to DOAC (uploaded 7.4.2020)
• Mental health drug monitoring guide (updated 20.5.2020)
• Medicine shortage update (uploaded 8.4.2020)
• RCGP guidance on delivering mass vaccinations during Covid-19 (updated 25.8.2020)
• Wessex LMC guidance on operational aspects of influenza immunisation 2020/21 (uploaded 23.7.2020)

Non-Covid-19 acute care

• Febrile illness in children and Covid-19 risk flow chart (published 29.10.2020)
• GP management of febrile children during the Covid-19 pandemic (published 30.10.2020)

Long-term condition clinical care resources

Management of long-term conditions during and post-Covid-19 (updated 3.12.2020)

General practice interface with other providers

Acute trusts

2WW Pan-London Cancer referral forms during Covid-19 pandemic

NHS 111

Palliative care services

London Ambulance Service (LAS)

Local Authority Social Service

Dentistry

• A summary flowchart for the patient pathway (updated 2.6.2020)

Certification

Death certificates and cremation forms

• Covid-19 processes concerning death of patients (updated 15.10.2020)

Medical certificates: fitness notes (MED3)

Information regarding shielding, self-isolation and social distancing

• Guide on shielding, self-isolation and social distancing (updated 8.7.2020)
• Requests for isolation letter (updated 19.5.2020)

Isolation notes and letters for Covid-19 related absence from the workplace

• Guide on shielding, self-isolation and social distancing (updated 6.8.2020)
• Londonwide LMCs template isolation letter for patient use (updated 19.5.2020)
• Londonwide LMCs template response to a request for a letter regarding returning to school (updated 21.5.2020)

Transport for London (TfL)

• TfL guidance on wearing face coverings
• TfL print at home face coverings exemption card

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) – temporary arrangements regarding medicals

Healthcare professional support services

Caring for yourself and your general practice guide (including a list of professional support services)

Risk assessment

• Maintaining staff safety in general practice (updated 3.6.2020)

Healthcare professional testing for Covid-19 infection

• Caring for yourself and your general practice team in the Covid-19 pandemic (updated 23.4.2020)
• Letter to patients about understanding the antibody blood test for Covid-19 (updated 11.6.2020)
• General practice staff Covid-19 testing in London (published 13.10.2020)

Practice management resources

Tracking Covid-19 related expenses

HR FAQs

• Covid-19 human resources support (updated 9.11.2020)
• LMC Law HR FAQs (updated 16.9.2020)

Practice contractual requirement and funding FAQ

• Primary Care Network Directed Enhanced Service (PCN DES) FAQs (updated 23.4.2020)
• Practice cleaning guidance from SEL

Data subject access requests and freedom of information requests FAQ

• Managing Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs), updated 19.1.2021

Indemnity FAQs

NHS pension scheme’s death in service benefit

Patient registration

• Patient registration during the Covid-19 pandemic (updated 6.5.2020)

Business continuity planning

• Service Continuity Resource Early Warning System (SCREWS) (published 1.5.2020)
• Guide to practice closure consequent upon the impact of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic (updated 22.4.2020)

Practice cleaning guidance

NHS Covid-19 app