Dear colleagues,
The COVID-19 outbreak currently being experienced around the world is unprecedented and requires everyone to work together to contribute to the health and well-being of populations as well as ensure that appropriate guidance and sharing of good practice occurs. This is essential in order to support the care of patients at the end of their lives or who are significantly unwell as the result of both COVID-19 or other possibly life-limiting illnesses.
This guidance, which is been prepared for secondary care initially and is not intended to be comprehensive, has been prepared and collated locally by the Northern Care Alliance NHS Group and the Association for Palliative Medicine of Great Britain and Ireland. While it is not nationally endorsed by the National Health Service, it may be useful to colleagues throughout the country when preparing their own guidance.
Please feel free to use, adapt and share this guidance appropriately, acknowledging where specific individuals have been identified as contributing to discrete parts of the guidance.
This guidance is subject to change as developments occur. Every effort will be made to keep this guidance up to date. Additional information can be found at on the Government website.
As far as is possible in such a short period of time, the information contained within this document has been checked by experts from across the palliative care profession. However, neither the Northern Care Alliance NHS Group nor the Association for Palliative Medicine of Great Britain and Ireland can accept any responsibility for errors or omissions in this document.