COVID-19 Programmes
COVID-19 presents challenges for health and care teams across Somerset, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly as they continue to deliver health and care services.

Overview
Supporting partners to manage the regional response to COVID-19
Building capability and sharing learning
Focus on patient safety, digital-first care and health inequalities
Detailed Programme Information
During the pandemic we have supported and continue to support our partners to spread innovative practice, evaluate change, build capability, and share learning to improve patient safety, optimise digital-first care pathways, and tackle health inequalities to support vulnerable communities.
Impact includes:
- 100% of COVID Oximetry @home services fully available and all acute trusts had access to virtual wards
- By the end of April 2020, every general practice in the South West was using video to consult with patients, compared to 5% before the pandemic
- Our work has led to as much as a 50% increase in patient throughput at some vaccination sites as part of wider support given to enable system improvements.
Click on a programme below to learn more about our work during the pandemic.
Improving patient safety
Supporting health and care teams to manage people at risk of deterioration, improve maternity and neonatal care, and implement safer care for patients with a tracheostomy.
Supporting digital-first care pathways
Facilitating effective and equitable digital-first care by improving the use of digital tools, patient access to digital care, and more effective interactions between patients and clinicians.
Addressing health inequalities
Supporting innovative place-based approaches to identify and support vulnerable communities at greatest risk of COVID-19.