COVID-19 Episode 6: Shielding

There have been a lot of questions within primary care regarding shielding and vulnerable patients. Sara and Lisa speak to Dr Joanna Bircher and Dr Viren Mehta about the confusion and get their thoughts on the subject. In the episode we cover: Demystifying all of the terminology and putting it into simpler terms. What has been asked of primary care with regards to these lists of patients, tips on how to complete these tasks and where to look for help. How to support extremely vulnerable/shielded and vulnerable patients as a practice, and how to safely manage clinical issues that arise for these people during COVID-19. Other groups of patients that might need extra support but don’t fall into the shielded (extremely vulnerable, high risk) category. Patient employment issues in primary care with relation to shielding. ____ Useful resources:  Guidance on shielding and protecting people who are clinically extremely vulnerable from COVID-19 (17th April 2020): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19 NHS Guidance and updates for GPs - Highest clinical risk patients: https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/publication/guidance-and-updates-for-gps-at-risk-patients/ RCGP - Shielding vulnerable patients from Covid-19 (April 2020): https://elearning.rcgp.org.uk/course/view.php?id=377 NHS Digital - Coronavirus (COVID-19): Shielded patients list: https://digital.nhs.uk/coronavirus/shielded-patient-list NHS Standard operating procedures: https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/primary-care/general-practice/standard-operating-procedures/ COVID-19: guidance for employees, employers and businesses: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19 Identifying and helping to protect patients most at risk from COVID-19: https://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/news/identifying-and-helping-protect-patients-most-risk-covid-19 BMA - Identifying patients at highest risk from COVID-19: advice for GPs (16th April 2020): https://www.bma.org.uk/news-and-opinion/identifying-patients-at-highest-risk-from-covid-19-advice-for-gps Lymphoma Action - Guidance on shielding for people who have lymphoma: https://lymphoma-action.org.uk/about-lymphoma-covid-19-and-lymphoma/guidance-shielding-people-who-have-lymphoma Myeloma UK - COVID-19: What measures should I be following?: https://www.myeloma.org.uk/news-and-stories/covid-19-information-hub/covid-19-what-measures-should-i-be-following/  Blood Cancer UK - Coronavirus and blood cancer: https://bloodcancer.org.uk/support-for-you/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-blood-cancer/ MPN Voice - COVID-19 Outbreak: Advice for Patients with Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPNs) (30th March 2020): https://www.mpnvoice.org.uk/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-and-information/coronavirus_covid_19_advice_for_people_with_mpns.aspx CLL Support - Latest advice on COVID-19 (15th April 2020): https://www.cllsupport.org.uk/latest-advice-on-covid-19/ Clinical guide for the management of Rheumatology patients during the coronavirus pandemic (8th April 2020): https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2020/03/clinical-guide-rheumatology-patients-v2-08-april-2020.pdf British Society for Gastroenterology expanded consensus advice for the management of IBD during the COVID-19 pandemic (6th April 2020): https://www.bsg.org.uk/covid-19-advice/bsg-advice-for-management-of-inflammatory-bowel-diseases-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/ NICE - COVID-19 rapid guideline: severe asthma (3rd April 2020): https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng166 British Thoracic Society - COVID-19: identifying patients for shielding: https://www.brit-thoracic.org.uk/about-us/covid-19-identifying-patients-for-shielding/ Good SAM Volunteer app: Patient referral form: https://www.goodsamapp.org/NHSreferral  ____ We really want to make these episodes relevant and