General
- Government Guidance on shielding and protecting people who are clinically extremely vulnerable from COVID-19 (Updated 18th March 2021). Note shielding is now paused from 1st April 2021.
- Psychological support for patients with LTCs from Imparts
- RCGP: Short course/ presentation on shielding patients (Reviewed and Updated 9th November 2020)
- London Health podcast (HLP): ‘The Power of Practice Nursing’ – Proactive long-term care during Covid
Borough-specific
- Southwark: Proactive care pathway for high risk patients . Please note, this pathway was developed during the first wave of the pandemic and Southwark practices are now encouraged to use the LTC management during Covid-19 pathway. The guide continues to be available via this page as practices may find it helpful to refer back to, in some instances. Please note that significant updates were subsequently made to the shielding list in November 2020. Practices are asked to urgently review children and young people on the Shielded Patient list as per RCPHP guidance and guidance on NHS Future, Adults with Down’s syndrome should be added to the shielding patient list.
Southwark-specific: Federations are contacting practices about searches and “COVID proactive care pathway” EMIS template.
- Southwark: Social Prescribing Link Workers: who they are, how they can help and how to refer (North Southwark/ QHS)
- Southwark: Social Prescribing Link Workers: who they are, how they can help and how to refer (IHL/Southwark)
Care planning
- Advocacy & decision making with vulnerable patients during a time of crisis. Practical advice on complex and sensitive care planning. Help to understanding a patient’s wishes and inform them of onward care processes. Includes sources of support for difficult ethical decisions
- Advance care planning by phone or video: Compassion in Dying resource . This framework has been designed to support GPs to have advance care planning conversations with patients by phone or video, in the context of COVID-19.
- Ethical support: Poster outlining process and support for complex care planning and ethical questions. Includes sources of support.
- Discussing emergency planning (BMJ) – a brief and useful guide
- Advanced care planning – is it different with COVID-19. Useful local presentation covering key issues. (April 2020)
Caring for patients with LTCs during Covid
Highest risk are Diabetes and Cardiovascular patients, as well as elderly and deprived. Identify and proactively contact higher risk patients to optimise and coordinate their care.
Coordinate My Care (CMC) resources:
- CMC service development. You can now include COVID specific category in your CMC plan
- Overview of CMC
- Quick guide – covers how practices can search for patients that have a CMC plan
- Resource pack
Collated to respond to the frequently asked questions, to assist local health and care systems to increase use of CMC. CMC is an accepted record of advance care plans and referenced in the Primary Care and Community Respiratory Resource pack for use during COVID-19 (issued on the 27th March (Appendix 1).
- CMC introduction for professionals
- How to create and update CMC plans
- CMC top tips
- Link for patients to create a CMC plan at home plus a support video
Frailty
- Clinical frailty scale
- Clinical Frailty scale guidance on younger patients Do not use clinical frailty scale on younger patients with stable long term disabilities such as Downs, or for patients with learning disability or autism.