Staff working for the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme are joining in the national effort to fight COVID-19, with clinicians working on the NHS frontline and others redeployed to help tackle the pandemic.

Most of the clinical leads heading GIRFT’s 41 workstreams, as well as the programme’s clinical ambassadors, are currently back at their trusts full-time, helping to treat patients with the virus or working in hospital teams supporting patient care. On a national level, they are working to highlight COVID-related risks and issues within their specialty and to provide guidance and solutions or pathways to be shared with fellow clinicians, both during and after the crisis. 

The skills of GIRFT’s non-clinical staff – from project managers and implementation managers to the communications team – are also being put to use in COVID-related roles across the health system, including:

• Family support and liaison;
• Compassionate care;
• Renal and transplant services;
• Recruitment for the Bring Back Staff campaign;
• Intensive and critical care nursing;
• PPE procurement;
• Strategic support for the emergency response programme;
• Physiotherapy services.

The GIRFT special projects team is also working with partners across the NHS to help with personal protection equipment (PPE) training for workers in the care sector and independent sector, in developing a guide to virtual consultations, and in co-ordinating Virtual Community Support Clinics focusing initially on rehabilitation and length of stay, respiratory care and wound care. 

 Professor Tim Briggs, GIRFT Chair and the National Director of Clinical Improvement for the NHS, said: “It is imperative during this time that we support our colleagues in the NHS, as well as patients, to help the system through this crisis.

“GIRFT is committed to doing all it can to fight the pandemic, and I have no doubt that with our collective efforts across the NHS we will defeat this virus.”

As the programme’s staff help in the effort to fight COVID-19, GIRFT’s scheduled deep dive visits with trusts have been suspended until further notice.

Data packs with key recommendations to action are still available to share with any trusts that would like them. Anyone interested should contact the relevant specialty project manager via our Workstreams page.

The GIRFT team will be back in contact once deep dives can be resumed.