Table I.
Data summarizing responses to generic questions
| Question no. | Question | Subcategories | Adult immunology, n (%) | Pediatric immunology, n (%) | Adult allergy, n (%) | Pediatric allergy, n (%) | Total, n (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staffing | |||||||
| 1 | Has a requirement for staff members to shield and/or self- isolate had an impact on your service? | No. of respondents | 30 (100) | 7 (100) | 32 (100) | 30 (100) | 99 (100) |
| Yes, but they are generally able to work from home | 18 (60) | 4 (57.1) | 13 (40.6) | 12 (40) | 47 (47.5) | ||
| Yes, but they are generally unable to work from home | 6 (20) | 2 (28.6) | 8 (25) | 4 (13.3) | 20 (20.2) | ||
| No significant impact | 6 (20) | 1 (14.3) | 11 (34.4) | 14 (46.7) | 32 (32.3) | ||
| Facilities | |||||||
| 2a | Has the physical space available for your service been affected by changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic in day-case units? | No. of respondents | 30 (100) | 7 (100) | 32 (100) | 30 (100) | 99 (100) |
| Yes | 25 (83.3) | 5 (71.4) | 29 (90.6) | 24 (80) | 83 (83.8) | ||
| No | 5 (16.7) | 2 (28.6) | 3 (9.4) | 6 (20) | 16 (16.2) | ||
| 2b | Has the physical space available for your service been affected by changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic in outpatient units? | No. of respondents | 30 (100) | 7 (100) | 32 (100) | 30 (100) | 99 (100) |
| Yes | 24 (80) | 6 (85.7) | 28 (87.5) | 28 (93.3) | 86 (86.9) | ||
| No | 6 (20) | 1 (14.3) | 4 (12.5) | 2 (6.7) | 13 (13.1) | ||
| 3 | Are you aware of specific patients with adverse clinical outcomes resulting from changes in service provision? | No. of respondents | 30 (100) | 7 (100) | 32 (100) | 30 (100) | 99 (100) |
| Yes | 8 (26.7) | 1 (14.3) | 14 (43.8) | 5 (16.7) | 28 (28.3) | ||
| No | 22 (73.3) | 6 (85.7) | 18 (56.3) | 25 (83.3) | 71 (71.7) | ||
| Service recovery | |||||||
| 4 | What positive impact of the adjustments to service provision due to COVID-19 have you identified? | No. of respondents | 29 (96.7) | 7 (100) | 31 (96.9) | 28 (93.3) | 95 (96) |
| Perceived reduced risk of infection by staff | 20 (69) | 2 (28.6) | 20 (64.5) | 12 (42.9) | 54 (56.8) | ||
| Perceived reduced risk of infection by patients | 26 (89.7) | 2 (28.6) | 23 (74.2) | 15 (53.6) | 66 (69.5) | ||
| Reduced carbon footprint due to less travel | 26 (89.7) | 7 (100) | 28 (90.3) | 23 (82.1) | 84 (88.4) | ||
| Reduced health service overhead costs | 13 (44.8) | 2 (28.6) | 10 (32.3) | 7 (25) | 32 (33.7) | ||
| Reduced patient travel time | 28 (96.6) | 7 (100) | 30 (96.8) | 23 (82.1) | 88 (92.6) | ||
| Reduced patient nonattendance rates | 15 (51.7) | 3 (42.9) | 19 (61.3) | 14 (50) | 51 (53.7) | ||
| Improved flexibility in health care professionals' time | 16 (55.2) | 5 (71.4) | 15 (48.4) | 20 (71.4) | 56 (58.9) | ||
| Other | 7 (24.1) | 3 (42.9) | 7 (22.6) | 7 (25) | 24 (25.3) | ||
| 5a | Will the requirement for social distancing in accordance to government guidelines impact your ability to deliver the pre-COVID level of service for outpatients? | No. of respondents | 30 (100) | 7 (100) | 32 (100) | 30 (100) | 99 (100) |
| Yes | 27 (90) | 7 (100) | 28 (87.5) | 30 (100) | 92 (92.9) | ||
| No | 3 (10) | 0 (0) | 4 (12.5) | 0 (0) | 7 (7.1) | ||
| 5b | Will the requirement for social distancing in accordance to government guidelines impact your ability to deliver the pre-COVID level of service for day-case? | No. of respondents | 30 (100) | 7 (100) | 32 (100) | 30 (100) | 99 (100) |
| Yes | 27 (90) | 5 (71.4) | 26 (81.3) | 26 (86.7) | 84 (84.8) | ||
| No | 3 (10) | 2 (28.6) | 6 (18.8) | 4 (13.3) | 15 (15.2) | ||
| Service provision | |||||||
| 6 | Overall, have changes in service provision occurred as a result of changes in: | No. of respondents | 29 (96.7) | 7 (100) | 30 (93.8) | 29 (96.7) | 95 (96) |
| Staffing | 20 (69) | 4 (57.1) | 23 (76.7) | 17 (58.6) | 64 (67.4) | ||
| Facilities | 27 (93.1) | 6 (85.7) | 29 (96.7) | 29 (100) | 91 (95.8) | ||
| Other | 4 (13.8) | 0 (0) | 3 (10) | 8 (27.6) | 15 (15.8) | ||
| Referrals | |||||||
| 7 | Are you accepting any nonurgent (next available routine appointment) referrals? | No. of respondents | 30 (100) | 7 (100) | 32 (100) | 30 (100) | 99 (100) |
| Yes | 27 (90) | 7 (100) | 26 (81.3) | 25 (83.3) | 85 (85.9) | ||
| No | 3 (10) | 0 (0) | 6 (18.8) | 5 (16.7) | 14 (14.1) | ||
| 8 | If you are accepting any nonurgent referrals, are you: | No. of respondents | 27 (90) | 7 (100) | 26 (81.3) | 24 (80) | 83 (84.8) |
| Scheduling appointments as normal | 18 (66.7) | 5 (71.4) | 20 (76.9) | 15 (62.5) | 58 (69) | ||
| Deferring appointments until service recovery | 9 (34.6) | 2 (28.6) | 7 (26.9) | 9 (37.5) | 27 (32.1) | ||
| 9 | If you are not accepting any nonurgent referrals, are you: | No. of respondents | 3 (10) | 0 (0) | 7 (21.9) | 5 (16.7) | 15 (15.2) |
| Giving advice and guidance only | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 4 (57.1) | 5 (100) | 9 (60) | ||
| Giving advice and guidance and requesting rereferral | 3 (100) | 0 (0) | 2 (28.6) | 0 (0) | 5 (33.3) | ||
| Automatic rejection (no advice) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (14.3) | 0 (0) | 1 (6.7) | ||
| 10 | Are you any accepting urgent (see within 4 wk) referrals? | No. of respondents | 30 (100) | 7 (100) | 32 (100) | 30 (100) | 99 (100) |
| Yes | 29 (96.7) | 7 (100) | 28 (87.5) | 27 (90) | 91 (91.9) | ||
| No | 1 (3.3) | 0 (0) | 4 (12.5) | 3 (10) | 8 (8.1) | ||
| 11 | Do you have capacity to see urgent referrals face-to-face rather than remotely? | No. of respondents | 30 (100) | 7 (100) | 32 (100) | 30 (100) | 99 (100) |
| Yes | 25 (83.3) | 7 (100) | 22 (68.8) | 22 (73.3) | 76 (76.8) | ||
| No | 5 (16.7) | 0 (0) | 10 (31.3) | 8 (26.7) | 23 (23.2) | ||