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Coronavirus (Covid-19) official resources and guidance

Government agencies and representative bodies are providing advice on coronavirus via some regularly updated webpages. We suggest you bookmark these pages and check them frequently. All links are best viewed in Chrome.

We have withdrawn and archived our Living Guide and Vaccine Guide documents, including the accompanying microsite. We feel our resources are now better directed to supporting London general practice in other ways, due to the rolling back of a number of Covid provisions and the fact that the remaining measures are now familiar to those working in practices. Our monthly newsletter continues to provide updates on new guidance relating to developing areas such as the Covid-19 Vaccination ES and PCN DES.

Covid-19 vaccination programme

• NHS England's information is available here, including the contract documents.

Londonwide LMCs' resources

• Covid-19 vaccination: medical exemption certificates guidance (updated 6.1.2022)
• Covid vaccination requirement for all general practice workers (added 10.12.2021)
• CQC’s monthly monitoring approach (updated 22.11.2021)
• General Practice During the Covid-19 Pandemic: The Role of the GP and Practice Team (added 22.4.2020)
• Covid-19 lateral flow testing (added 23.12.2020)
• Implementing cancer guidelines during Covid-19 (added 3.12.2020)
• Covid-19 vaccination - medicolegal matters (added 5.1.2021)
• QOF 20-21 repurposed in response to Covid pandemic (added 27.11.2020)
• GP management of febrile children during the Covid-19 pandemic (added 30.10.2020)
• Long Covid (added 26.10.2020)
• General practice staff Covid-19 testing in London (added 13.10.2020)
• Understanding the antibody blood test for Covid-19 template letter (added 11.6.2020)
• Management of long-term conditions during and post-Covid-19 (updated 7.4.2021)
• Maintaining staff safety in general practice (added 3.6.2020)
• Covid-19 and care homes (updated 22.1.2021)
• Patient registration during Covid-19 pandemic (added 6.5.2020)
• Medicines management and monitoring for mental health (updated 11.11.2020)
• Medicines management: drug monitoring and administration during the Covid-19 pandemic (updated 7.04.2021)
• Immunisation principles during the Covid-19 pandemic (added 17.4.2020)
• Shielding, self-isolation and social distancing (updated 8.7.2020)
• Requirement for home visiting during Covid-19 pandemic (updated 26.10.2020)
• Covid-19 processes concerning death of patients (updated 21.5.2020)
• Guide to practice closure consequent upon the impact of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic (updated 22.4.2020)
• Guide to using pulse oximeters during Covid-19 pandemic including template letter: patient action plan for oxygen saturation monitoring (updated 18.6.2020)
• Operating a safe practice policy (updated 26.5.2021)
• Remote examination guide (updated 15.4.2020)
• Covid-19 human resources support (updated 22.12.2020)
• The clinical course of Covid-19 – what do we know (updated 2.6.2020)
• Monitoring of patients with suspected Covid-19 (updated 26.10.2020)
• Non-acute essential care (updated 7.4.2021)
• Caring for yourself and your general practice team in the Covid-19 pandemic (updated 23.4.2020)
• PCN DES FAQs (updated 23.4.2020)
• LMC Law HR FAQs (updated 16.9.2020)
• Non-Clinical FAQs for Covid-19 (updated 19.1.2021)
• Londonwide LMCs' coronavirus guidance (added 18.3.2020)
• Requests for isolation letter template (updated 20.5.2020)
• Guidance and template letter to respond to requests for GP letters for travel insurance policies (added 18.3.2020)

National and London guidance

• NHS England coronavirus resources for primary care professionals.
• NHS England latest coronavirus publications.
• NHS England coronavirus primary care bulletins.
• Public Health England coronavirus resources for healthcare professionals.
• British Medical Association coronavirus resources.
• Professional clinical resources for Covid-19 (updated 19.1.2021).
• NHS England coronavirus advice to the public.
• Government social distancing guidance.
• Government self-isolation/household isolation guidance.
• Government travel advice.
• NHS 111 isolation note generator (to provide to employers in place of GP Fit Note).
• Charities and other organisations' Covid-19 advice for patients (updated 16.9.2020).
• Covid-19 guidance by local borough (updated 19.1.2021).

We will continue to send out updated resources to London practices via email alerts as and when we receive them, but the above pages should be your practice’s first point of reference if you are unsure of what the latest guidance says.

Coronavirus background

• Government statements on coronavirus.
• Collated national coronavirus statistics.

Londonwide LMCs' messages

• Mword 86 - Mad Hatters and other stories...
• Mword 85 - Terminus
• Mword 84 - SMS abuse: enough is enough
• Mword 83 - contract regulations, practise safely, LMC elections
• Mword 82 - Budget Statement, Government White Paper on health reform, and Provider Selection Consultation, new SOP and QCovid, vaccine update, connecting sessional GPs, burnout and support, GPC elections and voting, and finally … change (added 3.3.2021).
• Mword 81 - Vaccine hesitancy: addressing concerns and local delivery matters, new contract letter and London weighting, connecting sessional GPs, burnout and support (added 2.2.2021).
• Mword 80 - Prioritsiation and essential services, connecting sessional GPs, vaccine roll-out, PCN DES vote, meeting with Keir Starmer MP (added 11.1.2021).
• Mword 79 - Latest Covid-19 Vaccination Programme (CVP) updates, new ICS legislation, thank you (added 22.12.2020).
• Mword 78 - New variant of Covid-19 and London in Tier 3 (added 14.12.2020).
• Mword 77 - Guidance for practices on the Covid Vaccination Programme 2020/21 Service Spec (added 3.12.2020)
• Mword 76 - Covid-19 vaccination ES (added 4.12.2020).
• Mword 75 - Covid-19 vaccination ES, access to the "General Practice Covid Capacity Expansion Fund", new ICS legislation, Covid-19 plasma donation (added 3.12.2020).
• Mword 74 - Covid-19 vaccination delivery sites (added 26.11.20).
• MWord 73 - Covid-19 vaccination DES temperature check (added 18.11.20).
• MWord 72 - Covid-19 vaccination DES, now to be an NHS ES (added 13.11.20).
• MWord 71 - Covid-19 vaccination DES (added 11.11.2020).
• MWord 70 - Aggressive patients, remote consultations, face to face, GPC concerns, working with other organisations (added 30.10.2020).
• MWord 69 - Truth to power including interface issues, Covid safety and IPC, inappropriate expectations and ARRS, cancer and flu (added 30.10.2020).
• MWord 68 - Face to face, NHSE/I, London Recovery Board, cancer, digital first and flu (added 17.09.20).
• MWord 67 - Referrals, transfer of work, partnership incentives and research activity (added 9.7.2020).
• MWord 66 - Workload dumping, research project and call for coronavirus costs reimbursement (added 2.7.2020).
• MWord 65 - TLF face coverings template exemption, CQC and Living Guide v.12 (added 26.6.2020).
• MWord 64 - Living Guide v.11, cervical screening, BAME health disparities and CQC (added 12.6.2020).
• MWord 63 - BAME health disparities, shielding, PCN DES and homeless health (added 4.6.2020).
• MWord 62 - PCN DES decision-making update and Living Guide version 9 (added 28.5.2020).
• MWord 61 - PCN DES decision-making tool, death in service pension benefits, Spring Bank Holiday (added 15.5.2020).
• MWord 60 - International Nurses Day, Living Guide update (added 7.5.2020).
• MWord 59 - May Day opening, care home service specs, reasons to be cheerful, Living Guide update (added 1.5.2020).
• MWord 58 - The role of the GP and practice team, supplies and consumables, Ramadan (added 24.4.2020).
• MWord 57 - Wider context of Covid-19 and its implications for the future of general practice (added 22.4.2020).
• MWord 56 - Death verification, shielding and caring for your practice team (added 17.4.2020).
• MWord 55 - Thank you, Living Guide iterative updates and maintaining our values (added 15.4.2020).
• MWord 54 - Living Guide update and Bank Holiday opening funding (added 9.4.2020).
• MWord 53 - Bank Holiday opening and patients with non-Covid-19 conditions (added 7.4.2020).
• MWord 52 - Londonwide Living Guide, Bank Holiday opening, smear taking and the Roth score (added 2.4.2020).
• MWord 51 - Practising safely and death certification (added 30.3.2020).
• MWord 50 - Londonwide principles for face-to-face appointments (added 25.4.2020).
• MWord 49 - Bureaucracy suspended and workload prioritisation (added 2.4.2020).
• MWord 48 - Remote assessment best practice (added 23.3.2020).
• MWord 47 - Closed doors practising and Covid-19 flow charts (added 19.3.2020).
• MWord 46 - Fit note/MED-3 template and wider guidance (added 19.3.2020).
• CEO Announcement - Londonwide LMCs move to Covid-19 focus (added 16.3.2020).
• MWord 45 - Call to ease bureaucracy (12.3.2020).
• MWord 44 - Covid-19 management by NHS 111 (14.2.2020).

Note: due to the rapidly developing situation the information in these updates will go out of date, always check the two guidance sections above for the latest information.