The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has developed a series of evidence summaries to assist the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) and associated groups in their response to COVID-19.

Two reviews were performed to help inform guidance for the resumption of scheduled acute hospital care in Ireland following the first wave of COVID-19.

The first document is a review of guidance that has been issued internationally to support planning for the resumption of hospital-based scheduled care, which was postponed or cancelled due to mitigation measures implemented in the context of COVID-19.

The second document is a scoping review, which summarises evidence on the effectiveness of measures (‘pathways’) put in place to facilitate the resumption of scheduled hospital-based care. This scoping review searched for evidence from settings where care was postponed or cancelled due to mitigation measures implemented in the context of a respiratory virus pandemic.

A further related review was completed, which examined the evidence on the risk of adverse outcomes of surgical procedures in patients with COVID-19. This review may be found here.