Is there sufficient evidence to warrant a change in the established position (i.e. NICE guidelines of June 2020) regarding vitamin D for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19?

Short answer: No

The content of this document is correct as of 17/09/2020.

Question

1.Can a Classroom Feeding Observation for Dysphagia take place within a Pod? 

2.When conducting a Classroom Feeding Observation for Dysphagia do parents of children in the same Pod as the patient need to be informed of, and consent to, the observation?

Short answer

1.Yes, assuming local and national COVID-19 guidelines are followed including PPE and social distancing, a Classroom Feeding Observation for Dysphagia can take place within a Pod.

2.Yes, assuming local and national COVID-19 guidelines are followed including PPE and social distancing, a Classroom Feeding Observation for Dysphagia can take place within a Pod.

The content of this document is correct as of 18/09/2020.

This response was based on the Department of Education COVID-19 Response Plan for Reopening our Primary and Special Schools, version 2, published in August 2020. Access this document here.

QUESTION

Do I need to wear a mask if maintaining a 2m distance in a treatment room while delivering face-to-face CBT in Primary Care?

Short answer

The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) has recommended that healthcare workers use a surgical mask for all patient care activities when a safe distance (2m) cannot be maintained. This implies that when a 2m distance can be maintained a mask is not necessary. However, the NPHET guidance does not state this explicitly and does not address the issues of room size/occupancy or duration of contact. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control considers maintaining a 2m distance in a closed environment, such as a treatment room, as low-risk for exposure to COVID-19. The HSE Health Protection Surveillance Centre state that in low-risk circumstances, where wearing a mask may impact on patient care, a clear face visor is an acceptable alternative.

The content of this document is correct as of 30/09/2020.

These documents were used to answer this question:

1. Health Protection Surveillance Centre (2020). Interim Guidance on Infection Prevention and Control for the Health Service Executive 2020 v1.2. HSE: September 2020.
2. Health Protection Surveillance Centre (2020). Guiding principles for Infection Prevention and Control when returning to routine General Practice during pandemic COVID-19 v2.1. HSE: July 2020.
3. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (2020). Public health management of persons having had contact with cases of novel coronavirus in the European Union. ECDC: February 2020.

Dr Liz Kingston, member of the RapidInfo4U Panel of Experienced Clinicians and Lecturer at the University of Limerick, with a clinical speciality in infection prevention and control, was consulted to answer this question.

Question

1.What is current guidance for cleaning a room after a hands-on physiotherapy session?

2.What are the current recommended products for effectively cleaning surfaces?

3.Do I have to wait a certain amount of time to clean my treatment room after a session?

Short answer

1.Clean with detergent and water followed by rinsing and drying. If a surface is suspected or known to have been contaminated by infectious material a disinfected should be used after cleaning.

2.A neutral detergent with water for cleaning and a chlorine-based product, such as sodium hypochlorite, for disinfecting.

3.HSPC cleaning protocols do not stipulate that a certain amount of time should be left between seeing a patient and cleaning. HSPC guidelines state that COVID-19 virus droplets produced by an infected patient will land on surfaces “within minutes” of production. They do not state how many minutes precisely. Research has found that large droplets fall within 1 second while smaller droplets can take up to 9 minutes to fall to the ground.

The content of this answer is correct as of 02/10/2020

The International Alliance of Academies of Childhood Disability (IAACD) mission is to improve the health and well-being of children, youth and adults with childhood-onset disabilities around the globe.

COVID-19 continues to cause major disruptions in service provision, participation, and overall well-being of children and young people with disabilities and their families worldwide. As such, the IAACD has recently created a COVID-19 Task Force with the main goal of learning and understanding the impact of COVID-19.

Click here to visit the IAACD COVID-19 Task Force website

Statements re COVID-19 and people with intellectual or developmental disabilities:

People with disability Australia

Centre of Research Excellence in Disability and Health

University of New South Wales, Australia

Meng, H., Xiong, R., He, R., Lin, W., Hao, B., Zhang, L., … & Yang, W. (2020). CT imaging and clinical course of asymptomatic cases with COVID-19 pneumonia at admission in Wuhan, China. Journal of Infection.

CT imaging of asymptomatic cases with COVID-19 pneumonia has definite characteristics. It is essential to pay attention to the surveillance of asymptomatic patients with COVID-19. CT scan has great value in screening and detecting patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, especially in the highly suspicious, asymptomatic cases with negative nucleic acid testing.

Click here for article

Gaynor, T. S., & Wilson, M. E. (2020). Social Vulnerability and Equity: The Disproportionate Impact of COVID‐19. Public administration review.

As the architect of racial disparity, racism shapes the vulnerability of communities. Socially vulnerable communities are less resilient in their ability to respond to and recover from natural and human‐made disasters compared with resourced communities. This essay argues that racism exposes practices and structures in public administration that, along with the effects of COVID‐19, have led to disproportionate infection and death rates of Black people. Using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Social Vulnerability Index, the authors analyze the ways Black bodies occupy the most vulnerable communities, making them bear the brunt of COVID‐19’s impact. The findings suggest that existing disparities exacerbate COVID‐19 outcomes for Black people. Targeted universalism is offered as an administrative framework to meet the needs of all people impacted by COVID‐19.

Click here for article

Greenhalgh, T., Knight, M., Buxton, M., & Husain, L. (2020). Management of post-acute COVID-19 in primary care. BMJ, 370.

Approximately 10% of people experience prolonged illness after COVID-19

This article, intended for primary care clinicians, relates to the patient who has a delayed recovery from an episode of COVID-19 that was managed in the community or in a standard hospital ward. Broadly, such patients can be divided into those who may have serious sequelae (such as thromboembolic complications) and those with a non-specific clinical picture, often dominated by fatigue and breathlessness. 

Click here for article

The HSE has developed a range of posters with instruction for the use of Personal Protective Equipment. See full range of posters here.

Video resources for Infection Prevention and Control produced by the HSE’s health protection surveillance centre are available here.

The World Health Organisation has developed a mobile learning app specifically for health workers and is designed to enable them to expand their life-saving skills to battle COVID-19.  It delivers mobile access to a wealth of COVID-19 knowledge resources developed by WHO, including up-to-the-minute guidance, tools, training, and virtual workshops to support health workers in caring for patients infected by COVID-19 and in protecting themselves as they do their critical work.

For more information or to download the WHO app click here