scholarly journals The importance of health security in post-Brexit EU–UK relations

European View ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 172-179
Author(s):  
Andrew Glencross
Keyword(s):  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Health Security ◽  
Joint Procurement ◽  
Eu Policies ◽  
Potential Risks ◽  
Market Distortion ◽  
Uncertain Future ◽  
Security Relationship ◽  
The Uk

This article examines the possibilities for negotiating the UK–EU health-security relationship after 2020. Health security, in the sense of measures to prevent and mitigate health emergencies, had played a marginal role in the UK–EU negotiations, but COVID-19 has greatly amplified this policy area’s significance. At the beginning of the pandemic, Brussels introduced significant measures to promote public health sovereignty, notably joint procurement and stockpiling of personal protective equipment. The UK went against the grain by limiting its involvement in joint procurement at a time when other countries were rushing to participate. UK participation in some EU health measures is possible on existing terms, but not joint procurement. This leaves the UK facing an uncertain future because of the potential risks associated with not participating in EU programmes, notably in terms of access to personal protective equipment supplies and possible market distortion resulting from new EU policies promoting stockpiling and reshoring. The politicisation of health security thus adds another complication to the post-Brexit EU–UK relationship.

Aerosol-generating procedures in home care

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 76-80
Author(s):  
Drew Payne ◽  
Martin Peache
Keyword(s):  
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Community Setting ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Clinical Environment ◽  
Clinical Practices ◽  
Clinical Procedures ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
The Uk

COVID-19 has changed the landscape of healthcare in the UK since the first confirmed case in January 2020. Most of the resources have been directed towards reducing transmission in the hospital and clinical environment, but little is known about what community nurses can do to reduce the risk when they nurse people in their own homes? This article looks at what COVID-19 is, how it is spread and how health professionals are at an increased risk from aerosol-generating procedures (AGPs). There is also a discussion on the benefit of mask usage. It defines what AGPs are, which clinical procedures are AGPs, including ones performed in the community setting, and which identified clinical practices that have been mistaken for AGPs. There is also a discussion on the suitability of performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). It also describes how to reduce the risk by the use of full personal protective equipment (PPE) and other strategies when AGPs are performed in a patient's home. It ends with general advice about managing the risk of COVID-19 transmission with patients in their homes.

Challenges post-COVID-19: planning strategies to resume elective dentistry and allied surgical specialities

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Melissa Loh ◽  
Karthikeyan Iyengar ◽  
William YC Loh
Keyword(s):  
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽  
Surgical Management ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Dental Treatment ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Limited Availability ◽  
Viral Spread ◽  
Elective Treatment ◽  
Planning Strategies ◽  
The Uk

The effect of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic on the NHS in the UK has been profound and unprecedented. Many surgical specialities, including dentistry, throughout the country have not been exempt from this effect. As there are many aerosol-generating procedures and aerosol-generating exposures in surgical specialities, there has been a substantial cancellation of elective treatment. This has been in part because of the limited availability of personal protective equipment for surgeons as this is being use elsewhere by clinicians to aid the reduction of viral spread in the community. As the UK is preparing to emerge from the ‘lockdown’ during the pandemic, restarting elective surgical and dental treatment is an expected challenge. This article looks at the possible roadmap to recovery of elective surgical management and dentistry, taking into consideration possible predicted further peaks and troughs of COVID-19 infections.

Comparative Study Illustrating Difficulties Educating the Public to Respond to Chemical Terrorism

2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Hildebrand ◽  
Anthony Bleetman
Keyword(s):  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Emergency Services ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Similar Response ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
The Public ◽  
Chemical Attack ◽  
Chemical Release ◽  
Chemical Terrorism ◽  
The Uk

AbstractBackground:In recent years, the perceived threat of chemical terrorism has increased. It is hoped that teaching civilians how to behave during a chemical incident will decrease the number of “worried well” patients at hospitals, reduce secondary contamination, and increase compliance with the instructions of emergency services. The governments of the United Kingdom and Israel sent booklets to every household in their respective countries. In Israel, the civilian population was issued chemical personal protective equipment (chemical personal protective equipment).Methods:The effectiveness of these public education programs was assessed using a scenario-based questionnaire that was distributed to 100 respondents in Birmingham, UK and Jerusalem, Israel. Respondents were asked how they would behave in three deliberate chemical release scenarios and how they would seek information and help.Results:Only 33% of the UK respondents and 22% of the Israeli respondents recalled reading the government booklets. When asked what they would do after being contaminated in a deliberate release, approximately half of the respondents ranked seeking medical care at a hospital as the most appropriate action.The preferred sources of information in the wake of a chemical strike were (in descending order): radio, television, and the Internet. Approximately half of the respondents would call emergency services for information. Forty-one percent of the UK respondents and 33% of Israeli respondents stated that they either would call or go to the nearest hospital to seek information.Conclusions:The public information campaigns in both countries have had a limited impact. Many citizens claimed they would self-present to the nearest hospital following a chemical attack rather than waiting for the emergency services. A similar response was witnessed in the Sarin attacks in Tokyo and the 1991 Scud missile attacks in Israel.Current UK doctrine mandates that specialist decontamination teams be deployed to the scene of a chemical release. However, this takes >1 hour, and it requires at least 30 minutes to don hospital chemical personal protective equipment. Therefore, it is imperative that hospitals are equipped to cope with unannounced self-presenters after a chemical attack. This requires chemical personal protective equipment and protocols that are easier to use.

scholarly journals Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) use among emergency eye care professionals in the UK during the COVID19 pandemic

Eye ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (7) ◽  
pp. 1224-1228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy-lee Shirodkar ◽  
Ian De Silva ◽  
Seema Verma ◽  
Sarah Anderson ◽  
Polly Dickerson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Eye Care ◽  
The Uk

scholarly journals A Predictive Model of the Temperature-Dependent Inactivation of Coronaviruses

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Te Faye Yap ◽  
Zhen Liu ◽  
Rachel A. Shveda ◽  
Daniel Preston
Keyword(s):  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Limited Data ◽  
Temperature Dependent ◽  
Dependent Inactivation ◽  
Single Use ◽  
Thermal Sterilization ◽  
Uncertain Future ◽  
Risk Infection

The COVID-19 pandemic has stressed healthcare systems and supply lines, forcing medical doctors to risk infection by decontaminating and reusing medical personal protective equipment intended only for a single use. The uncertain future of the pandemic is compounded by limited data on the ability of the responsible virus, SARS-CoV-2, to survive across various climates, preventing epidemiologists from accurately modeling its spread. However, a detailed thermodynamic analysis of experimental data on the inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 and related coronaviruses can enable a fundamental understanding of their thermal degradation that will help mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic and future outbreaks. This paper introduces a thermodynamic model that synthesizes existing data into an analytical framework built on first principles, including the Arrhenius equation and the rate law, to accurately predict the temperature-dependent inactivation of coronaviruses. The model provides much-needed thermal sterilization guidelines for personal protective equipment, including masks, and will also allow epidemiologists to incorporate the lifetime of SARS-CoV-2 as a continuous function of environmental temperature into models forecasting the spread of coronaviruses across different climates and seasons.

scholarly journals A Predictive Model of the Temperature-Dependent Inactivation of Coronaviruses

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Te Faye Yap ◽  
Zhen Liu ◽  
Rachel A. Shveda ◽  
Daniel Preston
Keyword(s):  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Virus Concentration ◽  
Limited Data ◽  
Temperature Dependent ◽  
Dependent Inactivation ◽  
Single Use ◽  
Uncertain Future ◽  
Thermal Decontamination

The COVID-19 pandemic has stressed healthcare systems and supply lines, forcing medical doctors to risk infection by decontaminating and reusing single-use medical personal protective equipment. The uncertain future of the pandemic is compounded by limited data on the ability of the responsible virus, SARS-CoV-2, to survive across various climates, preventing epidemiologists from accurately modeling its spread. However, a detailed thermodynamic analysis of experimental data on the inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 and related coronaviruses can enable a fundamental understanding of their thermal degradation that will help model the COVID-19 pandemic and mitigate future outbreaks. This paper introduces a thermodynamic model that synthesizes existing data into an analytical framework built on first principles, including the rate law and the Arrhenius equation, to accurately predict the temperature-dependent inactivation of coronaviruses. The model provides much-needed thermal decontamination guidelines for personal protective equipment, including masks. For example, at 70 °C, a 3-log (99.9%) reduction in virus concentration can be achieved in ≈ 3 minutes and can be performed in most home ovens without reducing the efficacy of typical N95 masks. The model will also allow for epidemiologists to incorporate the lifetime of SARS-CoV-2 as a continuous function of environmental temperature into models forecasting the spread of coronaviruses across different climates and seasons.

scholarly journals 70 Availability of Personal Protective Equipment in NHS Hospitals During COVID-19: A National Survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 108 (Supplement_6) ◽  
Author(s):  
A Mantelakis ◽  
H Spiers ◽  
C W Lee ◽  
A Chambers ◽  
A Joshi
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Professional Groups ◽  
Safe Level ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Question Survey ◽  
Full Body

Abstract Introduction The continuous supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the National Health Service (NHS) is paramount in order to sustain a safe level of staffing and to reduce transmission of COVID-19 to patients, public and staff. Method A 16-question survey was created to assess the availability and personal thoughts of healthcare professionals regarding PPE supply in England. The survey was distributed via social media (Facebook © and Twitter ©) to all UK COVID-19 healthcare professional groups, with responses collected over 3 weeks in March 2020 during the beginning of the pandemic. Results A total of 121 responses from physicians in 35 different hospitals were collected (105 inpatient wards, 16 from intensive care units). In inpatient wards, eye and face protection were unavailable to 19.1% of respondents. Masks were available to 97.7% of respondents and gloves in all respondents (100%). Body protection was available primarily as a plastic apron (83.8%). All of respondents working in intensive care had access to full-body PPE, except FFP3 respirator masks (available in 87.5%). PPE is ‘Always’ available for 29.8% of all respondents, and ‘Never’ or ‘Almost Never’ in 11.6%. There was a statistically significant difference between London and non-London responders that ‘Always’ had PPE available (43.9% versus 19.0%, p = 0.003). Conclusions This is the first survey to evaluate PPE supply in England during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our survey demonstrated an overall lack of PPE volume supply in the UK, with preferential distribution in London. Eye and full body protection are in most lack of supply.

Development of the Emotional Wellbeing at Work Virtual Programme to support UK health visiting teams

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 516-522
Author(s):  
Sharin Baldwin ◽  
Rachel Stephen ◽  
Philippa Bishop ◽  
Patricia Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Service Delivery ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Rapid Change ◽  
Evaluation Process ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Emotional Wellbeing ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Health Visitors ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Way

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way in which health visiting services are delivered in the UK. Health visitors are now having to work more remotely, with virtual methods for service delivery as well as using personal protective equipment where face-to-face contacts are necessary. This rapid change has resulted in many health visiting staff working under greater levels of pressure, feeling isolated, anxious and unsettled. This article discusses a virtual programme that has been funded by the RCN Foundation and developed by the Institute of Health Visiting to support the emotional wellbeing of health visiting teams in the UK. It outlines the background to the project, the theoretical underpinnings to inform the programme model and the evaluation process that will be used to further refine the programme before wider implementation.

scholarly journals UK’s initial operational response and specialist operational response to CBRN and HazMat incidents: a primer on decontamination protocols for healthcare professionals

2018 ◽  
pp. emermed-2018-207562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert P Chilcott ◽  
Joanne Larner ◽  
Hazem Matar
Keyword(s):  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
First Responders ◽  
Skin Surface ◽  
Mass Casualty ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Hazardous Material ◽  
Removal Of Contaminants ◽  
The Uk

The UK is currently in the process of implementing a modified response to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear and hazardous material incidents that combines an initial operational response with a revision of the existing specialist operational response for ambulant casualties. The process is based on scientific evidence and focuses on the needs of casualties rather than the availability of specialist resources such as personal protective equipment, detection and monitoring instruments and bespoke showering (mass casualty decontamination) facilities. Two main features of the revised process are: (1) the introduction of an emergency disrobe and dry decontamination step prior to the arrival of specialist resources and (2) a revised protocol for mass casualty (wet) decontamination that has the potential to double the throughput of casualties and improve the removal of contaminants from the skin surface. Optimised methods for performing dry and wet decontamination are presented that may be of relevance to hospitals, as well as first responders at the scene of a chemical incident.

scholarly journals Military trauma and orthopaedics experience of the UK COVID-19 pandemic: a lesson in versatility and how it can influence our deployed role

2020 ◽  
pp. bmjmilitary-2020-001663
Author(s):  
Tim Packer ◽  
L McMenemy ◽  
J Kendrew ◽  
S A Stapley
Keyword(s):  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Medical Staff ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
Military Trauma ◽  
The Uk ◽  
And Training ◽  
Services Use

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated unprecedented change within the NHS. Some medical staff have been deployed into unfamiliar roles, while others have been exposed to innovative ways of working. The embedded military Trauma and Orthopaedic (T&O) cadre have been integral to this change. Many of these new skills and ways of working learnt will be transferable to deployed environments. Feedback from the T&O military cadre highlighted key areas of learning as changes in T&O services, use of technology, personal protective equipment, redeployment and training. This paper aims to discuss how these changes were implement and how they could be used within future military roles. The T&O cadre played important roles within their NHS trusts and the skills they learnt will broaden their skills and knowledge for future deployments.

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