The containment of COVID-19 remains of major concern and we are monitoring the situation and will continue to disseminate information as it becomes available.
Our webpage is regularly updated with guidance and links to information from Public Health England, Health Protection Scotland, Public Health Wales and Public Health Agency (Northern Ireland), and the Department of Health and Social Care. Our webpage includes a link to the PHE guidance for primary care which was updated today, posters for practices and guidance by the RCGP (including practice action cards). The updated PHE guidance advises that the patient should be isolated and to call 111 directly, rather than there being an expectation that the GP does this. NHS England also distributed the attached briefing for primary care providers earlier this week.
I also wrote to the NHS England about coronavirus emergency planning, including the feasibility of an online booking suspension and procurement challenges such as the cost of supplies and equipment. We would encourage all practices to continue to follow current advice from PHE, and for anyone who suspects they might be at risk of having the virus, or has developed symptoms, to call NHS 111.
Dr Richard Vautrey
GPC Chair
You will see that though the GPC chair has stated that he has requested to NHS England exploration of the “feasibility” of suspending online booking I can confirm that this has been met with a negative response. Birmingham LMC has therefore urged GPC to go back to NHS England and robustly demand that NHS England instructs all CCGs that all practices be allowed, should they choose, to suspend on-line booking, including NHS 111 direct booking, to mitigate the chances of patients who may be a coronavirus risk inappropriately attending surgeries, whether having booked themselves or through NHS 111 direct bookings. Despite assurances that NHS 111 is supposedly following the correct clinical disposal pathways we continue to get reports both locally and nationally of patients being sent to practices by NHS 111 without appropriate travel or contact histories having been taken.