Department of Nuclear Medicine, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, Brighton, BN2 5BE.
Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton, UK.
Nucl Med Commun. 2021 Feb 1;42(2):138-149. doi: 10.1097/MNM.0000000000001357.
COVID-19 brought about unprecedented challenges to healthcare, with nuclear medicine (NM) being no exception. The British Nuclear Medicine Society (BNMS) COVID-19 survey assessed the impact of the first wave of pandemic on NM services in the UK. With COVID-19 resurge compounded by seasonal winter pressures, we reflect and share lessons learnt from the first wave of pandemic to guide future strategy.
A questionnaire consisting of 34 questions was sent out to all BNMS members over 2 weeks in May 2020, to evaluate the impact of 'lockdown'.
One hundred thirty-eight members (92 sites) from a multidisciplinary background responded. There was a 65% reduction across all services; 97.6% of respondents reported some reduction in diagnostic procedures and 71.3% reduction in therapies; 85% worked with a reduced workforce. The North East of England, Greater London and South East and Wessex were most affected by staff absences. The North East reported the highest number of COVID-19 positive staff; London reported the greatest lack of testing. The reported time required to clear the backlog was 1-12 months. Seventy-one percent of participants used BNMS COVID-19 guidance.
The first wave caused a major disruption of NM service delivery and impacted on the workforce. The departmental strategies should tailor services to evolving local and regional differences in prevalence of COVID-19. A blanket shutdown of services with a 'one size fits all' strategy would likely have a severe impact on future delivery of NM and health services in general. Timely testing of staff and patients remains of paramount importance.
COVID-19 给医疗保健带来了前所未有的挑战，核医学（NM）也不例外。英国核医学学会（BNMS）的 COVID-19 调查评估了该流行病第一波对英国 NM 服务的影响。随着 COVID-19 的再次爆发和冬季压力的增加，我们反思并分享从第一波大流行中吸取的经验教训，以指导未来的战略。
在 2020 年 5 月的两周内，向所有 BNMS 成员发送了一份包含 34 个问题的问卷，以评估“封锁”的影响。
来自多学科背景的 138 名成员（92 个站点）做出了回应。所有服务都减少了 65%；97.6%的受访者报告诊断程序有所减少，71.3%的受访者报告治疗减少；85%的人减少了劳动力。英格兰东北部、大伦敦和东南地区以及威尔特郡受员工缺勤影响最大。英格兰东北部报告的 COVID-19 阳性员工人数最多；伦敦报告的检测不足。报告的清除积压所需时间为 1-12 个月。71%的参与者使用了 BNMS COVID-19 指南。
第一波疫情严重扰乱了 NM 服务的提供，并影响了劳动力。部门战略应根据 COVID-19 流行的地区和当地差异，调整服务。一刀切的服务关闭策略可能会对 NM 及一般卫生服务的未来提供产生严重影响。及时对员工和患者进行检测仍然至关重要。
