We recognise that Covid-19 presents exceptional difficulties and uncertainties for patients and all providers within primary and secondary care are focussed on supporting patients throughout their clinical pathway. We want people to feel safe coming to appointments at hospitals, clinics and at GP surgeries. We appreciate that some people will still be nervous of attending appointments and have committed that in this unprecedented period patients will be kept on the waiting list, if they choose to defer their appointments or procedures. This policy will be reviewed regularly.

Over the past week we have been busy preparing preliminary plans for the next phase of our response to the pandemic, and we have now submitted our high level plans to NHS England for review. Partners representing councils, public health, commissioners and providers are working very closely to deliver integrated support to help care home staff and residents. Our response has included the provision of support at borough and NCL-wide level, and we are in daily contact with care providers to ensure that resources are targeted where there is most need.

As a key part of our response, we are continuing to work to maximise the number of staff being tested for Covid-19, so far during April over 5,000 staff have been tested. We've introduced a teledermatology pathway for suspected skin cancer referrals at the Royal Free London and Whittington Health hospitals. This provides us with an alternative so that face-to-face dermatology and GP consultations are only given to those patients that must be seen in person, helping us to minimise risk to patients and staff. We have increased community-based bed capacity across North Central London to help us effectively manage the increased demand for acute services resulting from Covid-19 and the subsequent number of hospital discharges.

Regular update: The use of digital technology has been gradually increasing in NCL, and the pace of change has accelerated over the past month as we look for new ways to support our staff and patients. From phone and video consultations in primary care, to supporting residents in care homes separated from their families to stay in touch through Facebook Portals, we are adopting many innovative uses of technology. Providing access to information, intelligence about local communities and tools to keep us connected, digital working has become central to the NCL pandemic response.