Coventry & Warwickshire COVID-19 Portal

**Please find below the latest primary care coronavirus briefing.**

Information provided by NHS Coventry and Rugby CCG, NHS South Warwickshire CCG and NHS Warwickshire North CCG in line with Public Health England guidance.

This information may change rapidly as the situation develops. For the latest information for primary care, visit: https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/primary-care

In today's briefing we include the latest news stories falling into the following categories:

• Latest Local Picture

• Local Updates

• Latest National Picture

• Communications from NHS England

• Actions For Primary Care

Please click on the relevant section to view specific information.  

Latest local picture

Please remember: we are issuing the briefing twice a week (Tuesday and Thursday) communications via: warnoccg.covid19primarycarecommunications@nhs.net. We would also ask that if you have questions or concerns relating to the current situation around coronavirus and COVID-19 you use the same address: warnoccg.covid19primarycarecommunications@nhs.net. Please keep us updated with any issues that you may be having so we can try to address them.

Coventry and Warwickshire COVID position up to 01.06.2020

• 2,256 cases now confirmed in Coventry and Warwickshire (+4 / +0.2% from Thursday)

• 73 of these are currently admitted (-13 / -15.1% from Thursday)

• 613 beds still available (-21 / -3.3% from Thursday)

• 5 ITU beds occupied by Covid patients (+2 / +66.7% from Thursday)

• 474 reported deaths in a hospital setting (+8 / +1.7% from Thursday)

 Care Home current position as at 01.06.2020

• 226 Covid related deaths in care homes (+6 / +2.7% from Thursday, note some of these deaths may have occurred outside of the home and so may be counted in the figure above)

• 547 Care home deaths in total (+8 / +1.5% from Thursday)

o 701 confirmed cases (+0 / +0.0% from Thursday)

o Confirmed care home cases broken down by CCG:

o Coventry & Rugby: 352

o South Warwickshire: 231

o Warwickshire North: 118

Download the weekly totals and predictions.

Local Updates

Antibody testing

You will be aware from national communications that antibody testing is now becoming available; we are currently working through the local processes for accessing this testing for primary care staff and patients. We will provide more information on how practices access this testing in Thursday's bulletin. 

Risk assessments for BAME and other staff

NHS Employers have published guidance on risk assessment, particularly for at risk and vulnerable groups within the workforce. This includes staff returning to work for the NHS, and existing team members who are potentially more at risk due to their race and ethnicity, age, weight, underlying health conditions, disability, or pregnancy. NHS Employers have taken an inclusive approach and have described that the guidance is applicable, with appropriate local adaptations, in all healthcare settings. 

Principles of safe video consulting in general practice during COVID-19

This guidance is aimed at NHS general practice staff who are consulting via video with patients at home (although we expect the key principles to apply to practitioners across wider primary care). Practitioners are expected to have full access to the patient’s primary care medical record and to be consulting with patients in England.

Primary care wellbeing survey – reminder

NHS England is looking to understand the current wellbeing of the primary care workforce, and invites you to take part in a short survey undertaken by the Institute for Employment Studies to support this and to support the wider evaluation of the #lookingafteryoutoo primary care coaching offer. The survey will take no longer that five minutes to complete and will contribute to their ongoing response to support your wellbeing. 

EMIS Update: NHS 111 Messages - Auto filing suspected COVID-19 code 

EMIS has made an important enhancement to the incoming NHS 111 Post Event Message (PEM) report that checks for any COVID-19 disposition codes. If any of the tasks within the report have a COVID-19 disposition code, the mapped SNOMED CT code (2827381000000119 - Suspected COVID-19) is automatically filed into the care record.

This means the code is immediately included in the next Summary Care Record (SCR) upload, and via GP Connect, meaning anyone treating the patient with the appropriate access will be aware as quickly as possible and without the task having to be completed in Document Management. 

The task should still be completed in the usual manner when appropriate.

Primary care webinars

Best in Practice webinar on Digital Nursing

Wednesday 3rd June 12:30 – 1:30pm 

This session will look at key aspects of digital nursing, during covid and beyond. Nurses across the country are driving transformational change and adapting rapidly to new ways of working.

Register Here

 

Achieving Diversity in the digital response during and beyond COVID-19

Thursday 4th June 12:00 - 1:30pm

Discussing 'Achieving Diversity in the digital response during and beyond COVID-19', and combatting health inequality by using digital to bridge the gaps in healthcare.

Register Here

 

Keeping Your Patients Informed about Online Services

Thursday 4th June 4:30 - 5:00pm

This webinar is to help you make the most out of your digital services during the COVID-19 pandemic to protect your staff and patients.

Register Here

 

If you are unable to attend these events please note that recordings, slide decks and other resources will be held on our FutureNHS workspace Digital Primary Care. This workspace is open to anyone who is registered with Future NHS, but if you need an invitation to get access then please contact england.digitafirstprimarycare@nhs.net with the request.

 

UPDATES FOR Coventry and Rugby – 2 June 2020

No updates this issue.

UPDATES FOR South Warwickshire – 2 June 2020 

Two-week Referrals for Obstetrics and Gynaecology 

Clinicians at South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust are kindly requesting that GP colleagues fill out the “important clinical information section” underneath the tick boxes on the 2 week Referral service Proforma. This additional information enables Consultants to make a clinical decision and minimises delays in processing urgent referrals. 

COVID-19 Post Discharge Respiratory Therapy Support Team

Physiotherapy have set up this new service in response to Covid-19 for patients with ongoing issues as a result of having confirmed or suspected Covid 19 such as:

On-going breathlessness, airway clearance issues, reduced exercise tolerance, possible dysfunctional breathlessness, high anxiety/depression or requiring fatigue management.

 

For more information .

Email: RespiratoryPhysiotherapyReferrals@swft.nhs.uk

EMIS on VPN Remote Desktop

There are sporadic issues accessing EMISWeb via the Remote Desktop provided by SWFT. This is due to a new EMIS client release, which goes into an updating loop and locks access to EMIS. When you now logon to the VPN/Remote Desktop via your personal device you will be presented with a choice of 4 links. You are free to choose any, and if EMIS fails to run correctly – go back onto the VPN and choose a different link. We have updated the guidance to reflect instructions for Windows VPN and Apple Mac VPN

UPDATES FOR Warwickshire North – 2 June 2020

EMIS on VPN Remote Desktop

There are sporadic issues accessing EMISWeb via the Remote Desktop provided by SWFT. This is due to a new EMIS client release, which goes into an updating loop and locks access to EMIS. When you now logon to the VPN/Remote Desktop via your personal device you will be presented with a choice of 4 links. You are free to choose any, and if EMIS fails to run correctly – go back onto the VPN and choose a different link. We have updated the guidance to reflect instructions for Windows VPN and Apple Mac VPN

Latest National Picture

• As of 9am on 1 June, there have been 4,484,340 tests, with 128,437 tests on 31 May.

• 276,332 people have tested positive.

• As of 5pm on 31 May, of those tested positive for coronavirus in the UK, 39,045 have died. This new figure includes deaths in all settings not just in hospitals.

• Coronavirus press conference statement by Matt Hancock, Health Secretary on Monday 1 June 2020 is here

• Press conference slides and datasets used by The Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP and Professor John Newton are here

• The latest advice is here.

• Updated - Coronavirus (COVID-19): getting tested

• Coronavirus (COVID-19): advice on accessing green spaces safely

• Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance for local government

• Updated - Coronavirus outbreak FAQs: what you can and can’t do

• Latest local figures published by GOV.uk and PHE are as of Monday 1 June 2020 at 5:09pm, there are a total of 16,193 cases in the West Midlands.

Communications from NHS England

NHS England Primary Care Bulletin – new edition – 29 May

COVID-19: latest guidance for general practice is issued in the NHS England Primary Care Bulletin(29 May) and in this edition has risk assessments for BAME and other staff and antibody testing, plus the PPE Portal update. This regular COVID-19 Primary Care Bulletin is from Dr Nikki Kanani and Ed Waller and you are encouraged to sign up here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/email-bulletins/general-practice-bulletin/. 

Media enquiries 

Our communications team is here to support you if needed. If you are approached by the media, please forward on to your local communications team: agem.communications@nhs.net. Outside of working hours the communications team can be reached via 01522 537887.   

Actions for Primary Care

None this issue