RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Remodelling elective hospital services in the COVID-19 era – designing the new normal
JF Future Healthcare Journal
JO Future Healthc J
FD Royal College of Physicians
SP e60
OP e63
DO 10.7861/fhj.2020-0079
VO 7
IS 3
A1 Lamin A King
A1 Sandeep S Hothi
YR 2020
UL http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/7/3/e60.abstract
AB The provision of elective clinical services has decreased during the initial phase of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic to enable hospitals to focus on acute illness. Any end to the pandemic through widespread vaccination, effective treatment or development of herd immunity may be years away. Until then, hospitals will need to resume treating other diseases while also attempting to eradicate transmission of COVID-19 within the healthcare setting. In this article we suggest six major themes which could affect the design and delivery of elective clinical services: hospital avoidance, separation of high- and low-risk groups, screening, maintenance of adequate infection control, and new ways of working.