Coronavirus Information Centre

Resources related to Covid-19 for community nurses and allied health professionals.

Long Covid Nurse Expert Group

The QNI has established a nurse expert group to examine issues and practice related to the management of Long Covid in community, primary care and social care settings. Find out more.

The Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has published information for healthcare professionals  on the three authorised vaccines:

Information for Healthcare Professionals on Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine

Information for Healthcare Professionals on COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca

Information for Healthcare Professionals on COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna

Living with Covid-19 (Long Covid) and Beyond – community and primary care nursing resource

The QNI has just published a resource – commissioned by NHSE/I –  for nurses working in community, care homes and primary care and also to the wider multi-disciplinary team to ensure access to the required clinical knowledge, care responses and skills when caring for people during their recovery and rehabilitation from the virus. Living with Covid-19 Community and Primary Care Nursing Resource

Covid age risk assessment

https://alama.org.uk/covid-19-medical-risk-assessment/

The effect of Covid-19 on the UK’s nursing and residential homes

A survey of the QNI’s Care Home Nurses Network was carried out by the QNI International Community Nursing Observatory (ICNO) to understand more about the impact of Covid-19 on the Care Home Nurse workforce. Read the report and the press release here. 

QNI Rapid Training plans

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the redeployment of staff to work in the community, primary care and care home settings, the QNI has developed a set of rapid training plans to assist nurses making the transition into unfamiliar settings. We hope you will find them useful as a benchmark.

NHS 111 is seeking experienced nurses to work in the National Covid-19 Assessment service.  Nurses will receive fast track inductions and training, work from home, complete telephone assessments and then direct patients appropriately. Registered nurses wishing to be considered for this service should contact nhsi.nursing.returners@nhs.net . Nurses in England should use the same email address for any queries about returning to work in the NHS.

• Guidance from NHS England and NHS Improvement

After-care needs of inpatients recovering from COVID-19

• Community Health Services Guidance

General Advice

• NHS: www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19
• UK Government advice:
  www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/coronavirus-covid-19-uk-government-response
• UK Government advice translated into 20 languages:
  www.doctorsoftheworld.org.uk/coronavirus-information
• Nursing and Midwifery Council: www.nmc.org.uk/news/coronavirus
• Skills for Health’s guidance and support for the public sector in response to COVID-19: www.skillsforhealth.org.uk/covid-19-coronavirus-info
• The RCN – COVID-19 (coronavirus) FAQs: www.rcn.org.uk/get-help/rcn-advice/covid-19
• RCN advice re hand hygiene and skin health
• NHS Volunteer Referral Form and FAQs
• Resuscitation Council: statement on Covid-19
• The NICE rapid guideline for symptom management in the community: www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng191
• Beyond Words: a free pictorial resource “Beating the Virus”
• Update from NHS England and NHS Improvement: Published docs and resources_29 May 2020
• Advice about heatwaves and Covid-19: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/heatwave-plan-for-england

Understanding the Nurse Deployment Process

• Skills for Care has produced a flowchart which shows the journey up until the point of a registered nurse being deployed. The flowchart shows what you need to do and what happens after you’ve filled in the NHS and Social Care Capacity Tracker, which is the first step. They’ve also updated their website to include information about what training a nurse should have prior to deployment and how to access it, and indemnity and insurance arrangements. Find out more.

Personal Protective Equipment

• Public Health England’s guidance on COVID-19 personal protective equipment: www.gov.uk/government/publications/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-infection-prevention-and-control/covid-19-personal-protective-equipment-ppe
• The National Supply Disruption line:
  Tel: 0800 915 9964
  Email: supplydisruptionservice@nhsbsa.nhs.uk
  Emergency ordering online: www.supplychain.nhs.uk/covid19/ordering

Looking after your mental well-being during Covid-19

• COVID-19 Psychological Wellbeing in Healthcare Workers 
• Society of Occupational Medicine – advice for supporting people returning to work
• Advice from 4 Mental Health: Building your wellbeing and helping you cope 
• RCN’s mindfulness based videos for nursing staff 
• MIND advice to support mental wellbeing: www.mind.org.uk/information-support/coronavirus-and-your-wellbeing
• Blog from Mental Health UK: ‘Managing your mental health as a key worker during the coronavirus outbreak’
• A learning course about the psychological impact of the pandemic: www.futurelearn.com/courses/psychological-impact-of-covid-19

Macmillan’s new Covid-19 resources

• A safe site on LearnZone (via enrolment key) with links to coronavirus guidance and resources. Topics covered include: Emotional health and Wellbeing, Cancer and Covid19: including treatment info for nurses and AHP’s, End of Life Care and bereavement, Communication skills and difficult conversations, Resources you can use to support your patients, General and other resources. If you do not already have a LearnZone account, you can create one here. When you first access each set of resources, you will be asked for the enrolment key: For every set of resources, the key is covid19.

Advice for Care Homes

• Meeting the needs of people with dementia living in care homes during Covid-19 video
• Walking with purpose guide for local adaptation
• Top tips on getting a COVID swab when someone has dementia
• Reducing anxiety for residents with dementia when wearing PPE
• Activities for Older Adults During Covid-19 guide by Health Innovation Networks
• Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLs) Covid-19 guidance and summary
• British Geriatric Society short guide dementia and COVID-19
• Social care dementia in care homes COVID-19 advice
• Dementia in care homes and COVID-19 – Social Care Institute for Excellence
• MSC letter to care providers on visiting 15 July 2021 (skillsforcare.org.uk)
• COVID-19 vaccination programme – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• Vaccination of people working or deployed in care homes: operational guidance – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) (updated October 2021)
• Statement on COVID-19 vaccination of people working/deployed in care homes: the role of the Care Quality Commission | Care Quality Commission (cqc.org.uk)
• NHSE/I standard operating procedure for running a medicines re-use scheme in a care home or hospice setting
• Priority  medicines for palliative and end of life care during a pandemic, developed by the Association of Palliative Medicine, Royal College of GPs, Hospice UK and the Association of Supportive and Palliative Care Pharmacy, working with NHS England and NHS Improvement
• Support guidance for care home managers/staff produced by Covid Trauma Response Working Group
• UK Government advice for residential care, supported living and care homes
• Resource links from the Care Provider Alliance
• Resources from the British Geriatric Society:
  www.bgs.org.uk/resources/coronavirus-current-information-and-advice
  www.bgs.org.uk/resources/covid-19-managing-the-covid-19-pandemic-in-care-homes
• Video lessons for care homes to support staff to identify & manage deterioration
• AHSN Network – spotting the early soft signs of deterioration and sepsis
• Care UK – useful information about coronavirus
• QNI’s Care Home Nurses Forum on Facebook
• QNI’s Transition to Community Nursing learning resource online
• Skills for Care single point of contact for employing registered nurses in care homes
• Scottish Quality Safety Fellowship – video about COVID-19 and care homes

Advice for General Practice Nurses

• Minimum Bridging Competencies for General Practice Nurses transitioning to Community Nursing, a new resource commissioned by NHS England and Improvement and developed by the QNI.
• General Practice Nurse Education Network
• HEE’s ‘Information and Support for Nurses Working Within General Practice during Covid-19: ‘DOC-0160 Important Information & Support for Nurses during Covid 19
• Principles of safe video consulting during Covid-19 (NHSE)

Advice for Carers

Researchers at University of East Anglia have launched the “Supporting Someone with Breathlessness” website – a resource for informal carers of people with breathlessness that is evidence-based, mapped to carers’ learning needs and preferences, and can be used by carers on their own, explored in peer- or clinician-led support groups, or in one-to-one sessions between clinicians and carers (and patients).  It was developed for carers of patients with breathlessness due to COPD or cancer but, given the current pandemic, additionally includes guidance on how to support someone in the recovery phase of Covid-19.

• Supporting Breathlessnesses

Psychological First Aid for Children or Young People

• Psychological First Aid (PFA) may be a useful tool for staff supporting children and young people in the children and young people secure estate. This is a guide to using it with this group. COVID-19 Psychological First Aid

Safe working in education, childcare and children’s social care

• Preventing and controlling infection, including the use of PPE, in education, childcare and children’s social care settings during the coronavirus outbreak
• The RSHE Mental Wellbeing teacher training module

Advice for Homeless Health Professionals

• COVID19 and changes to the Care Act 2014 – A briefing for homelessness providers and practitioners + short video of implications for practice
• Safeguarding Toolkit for adults experiencing homelessness and exclusion – to be used by any practitioner working across homelessness SafeguardingToolkit(DRAFT-PDF)
• QNI Homeless Health Network: www.qni.org.uk/nursing-in-the-community/homeless-health-programme/homeless-health-resources

Advice for Occupational Health Nurses

The documents below relate to UK plc returning to the workplace; a guide for OH professionals advising patients and employers, and the last one is designed to help businesses ensure their workplace is safe for those who are returning to work.

Information on Coronavirus for Stroke Survivors

Wound Care guidance from the National Wound Care Strategy

Photo by Martin Sanchez on Unsplash.