Keeping people safe and supported through the pandemic

In our latest COVID-19 Insight report, we focus on infection prevention and control (IPC) in different health and care settings, and the ways services across 11 different local areas have collaborated in response to coronavirus (COVID-19).

We want these Insight reports to help everyone involved in health and social care to work together to learn from the pandemic. This includes:

• sharing and reflecting on what has gone well
• understanding and learning from the experience of what hasn't
• helping health and care systems prepare better for the future.

In our section on IPC, we focus on good practice in health and social care. In acute hospitals, we share good practice around establishing IPC teams, personal protection equipment, and the ways hospitals have supported patients and visitors.

We share our findings from recent inspections in care homes, looking at safe admission, IPC for visitors, IPC policies and use of personal protective equipment.

We also look at GPs and their IPC measures, including PPE and cleaning procedures, social distancing and minimising patient contact, and guidance/communication around coronavirus.

As reported in July, we recently completed provider collaboration reviews across 11 integrated care systems and NHS sustainability and transformation partnerships.

Our focus was on care for people aged 65 and over, who are more at risk from coronavirus.

The 11 reviews focus on what happened in different places – the response to coronavirus by local systems. Understanding local population needs, including cultural differences, was especially important, and the quality of existing relationships between local providers played a major role in the coordination and delivery of joined up care.

In advance of our full findings in October, we share examples of the way different places shared learning, how staff were protected, the way workforce capacity was managed, and how digital solutions were helpful in protecting and supporting people.