Skip to main content

Guidelines

Here you will find the widely used professional guidelines accepted as best practice on clinical matters, health and general professionalism. Expand the headings in the list below for more detail on the subject and specialty areas of each guidelines.

If you have any recommendations for further inclusions in this list, please get in touch with the e-Library.

The e-Library want your views

 Guidelines: Feedback Survey

The e-Library wants to hear from you on your experience of using our Guidelines and should take no more than 10-15 minutes to complete

Velindre NHS Trust have launched a new App to provide NHS staff with rapid access to emergency protocols when treating cancer patients as an unplanned emergency. Find out more.

All Wales Medicines Strategy Group (AWMSG) brings together relevant healthcare consultants and key organisations to form expert panels for the consideration of a variety of issues relating to medicines management. 

The All Wales Prescribing Advisory Group (AWPAG), a subgroup of AWMSG, advises AWMSG on clinical developments relating to medicines use in Wales.  The AWMSG work programme is further supported by the All Wales Therapeutics and Toxicology Centre (AWTTC), which includes the Welsh Analytical Prescribing Support Unit (WAPSU). 

AWMSG are committed to ensuring equity of access to the most appropriate and cost-effective medicines for the people of Wales. Through monitoring prescribing patterns, reviewing the literature and identifying examples of best practice, AWMSG aim to provide service users in NHS Wales with useful resources to achieve this.  

The newly launched BNF & BNFC App can be downloaded from the Apple Appstore and Google Play Store and is now free to download without an OpenAthens account.

NHS Wales users can access the BNF either via NICE or Medicines Complete

British National Formulary via NICE

British National Formulary via Medicines Complete (access on NHS Wales site or within the NHS Wales network only)

NHS Wales staff can access the BNFc either via NICE or Medicines Complete

British National Formulary for Children via NICE

British National Formulary for Children via Medicines Complete (access on NHS Wales site or within the NHS Wales network only)

The Guidelines International Network contains links to guidelines published or endorsed by GIN member organisations from across the globe. It also contains a registry of planned guidelines and guidelines in development.

iRefer is the essential radiological investigation guidelines tool, from The Royal College of Radiologists (RCR). iRefer helps referring GPs, radiographers, clinicians and other healthcare professionals to determine the most appropriate imaging investigation(s) or intervention for patients. It provides practical guidance based on the best available evidence.

iRefer is only accessible on-site. To access iRefer NHS Wales employees and contract holders must first read the iRefer terms and conditions. Once you have read and agreed to these please continue by clicking the 'I agree' button on the page.

Once the webpage loads, click Organisational login (SSO) to authenticate.

Access iRefer

Further Information

Latest Guidance Updates

Prepared by RCR, these updates include guidelines that have been published to the iRefer platform, including code, guideline title, and what the update contained. 

Webinar Recordings

iRefer webinar

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us.

 

 

Maudsley Prescribing Guidelines 14th edition

The Maudsley Prescribing Guidelines in Psychiatry is the essential evidence-based handbook on the safe and effective prescribing of psychotropic agents. Covering both common and complex prescribing situations encountered in day-to-day clinical practice, this comprehensive resource provides expert guidance on drug choice, minimum and maximum doses, adverse effects, switching medications, prescribing for special patient groups, and more. Each clear and concise chapter includes an up-to-date reference list providing easy access to the evidence on which the guidance is based.

The fourteenth edition has been fully updated to incorporate the latest available research, the most recent psychotropic drug introductions, and all psychotropic drugs currently used in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. Several new sections cover topics such as deprescribing of major psychiatric drugs, prescribing psychotropics at the end of life, the treatment of agitated delirium, the genetics of clozapine prescribing, the use of weekly penfluridol, and the treatment of psychotropic withdrawal. Featuring contributions by an experienced team of psychiatrists and specialist pharmacists, the new edition of The Maudsley Prescribing Guidelines in Psychiatry:

  • Provides succinct coverage of drug treatment of psychiatric conditions and formulating prescribing policy in mental health
  • Covers a wide range of psychiatric conditions including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and anxiety, borderline personality, eating disorders, and many others
  • Provides advice on prescribing for children and adolescents, older people, pregnant women, and other special patient groups
  • Offers new sections on genetic prescribing, long-acting injectable formulations, ketamine administration and uses, and dopamine super-sensitivity
  • Includes referenced information on off-label prescribing, potential interactions with other substances such as alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine, and treating patients with comorbid physical conditions

Whether in the doctor's office, in the clinic, or on the ward, The Maudsley Prescribing Guidelines in PsychiatryFourteenth Edition is a must-have for psychiatrists, pharmacists, neuropharmacologists, clinical psychologists, nurses, and other healthcare professionals working in mental health, as well as trainees and students in medicine, pharmacy, and nursing.

Information leaflet

Access NEWT Guidelines for almost 700 drug monographs on administration of medication to patients with enteral feeding tubes or swallowing difficulties and 800 myNEWT guides – patient information leaflets that can be shared with patients with enteral feeding tubes. Click the ‘Registered Users Click here to log in’ button and access should be instant when on the NHS Wales network. However, if you are required to enter a username and password please email elibrary@wales.nhs.uk for the log-in.

If you require any further clinical advice, contact your local Medicines Information centre: Find your local centre here

NICE provides evidence-based national clinical guidelines and advice to help improve health and social care. Below, you will find links to specific areas of their website where content is free to access.

NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries

NICE CKS service provides primary care practitioners with a readily accessible summary of the current evidence base and practical guidance on best practice in respect of over 330 common and/or significant primary care presentations

Please Note: The journals and databases section is only available to NHS Staff in England. You can access journals via NHS Wales e-Library for Health A-Z Journal List and the selection of subscribed databases.

NICE Guidance

Find guidance and advice on conditions and diseases, health protection, lifestyle and wellbeing, population groups and service delivery, organisation and staffing.

 

NICE Standards and Indicators

Quality standards set out priorities for quality improvement. Useful for commissioners, service providers, health, public health and social care practitioners and regulators.

Wales Pathology Handbook (WPH) is a knowledge service within the Welsh national information architecture.

It provides national and local catalogues of requestable tests, rules and guidance for electronic requesting (via the Welsh Clinical Portal (WCP) and GP systems) and a web-based knowledge resource for all clinical staff.

The introduction of the new national Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) for Wales means that the operational WPH needs to be reviewed and updated to ensure that it is fit for purpose in the future environment.

British Endodontic Society

https://britishendodonticsociety.org.uk/profession/endodontic-publications

Guideline for reporting on CBCT scans, Guideline for periradicular surgery, Management of deep caries and the exposed pulp 

 

British National Formulary BNF and BNF Children: Dental areas

https://bnf.nice.org.uk/dental-practitioners-formulary

adult dental formulary

https://bnfc.nice.org.uk/dental-practitioners-formulary

child dental formulary

https://bnf.nice.org.uk/guidance/prescribing-in-dental-practice.html

includes medical emergencies in dental practice

 

British Orthodontic Society

https://www.bos.org.uk/Information-for-Dentists

Quick reference guide to orthodontic assessment and treatment, Making an orthodontic referral, Moving and transferring during treatment, Limited Treatment Orthodontics, Careers in orthodontics

 

British Society for Disability and Oral Health

https://www.bsdh.org/index.php/bsdh-guidelines

Undergraduate curriculum in special care dentistry (2014), Oral management of oncology patients requiring radiotherapy, chemotherapy and/or bone marrow transplantation (2018), Clinical guidelines and integrated care pathways for the oral health care of people with learning disabilities (2012), Clinical holding guidelines (2010), Guidelines for the delivery of a domiciliary oral healthcare service (2009), The provision of oral care under general anaesthesia in special care dentistry – a professional consensus statement (2009),  Commissioning tool for special care dentistry (2006), Principles on intervention for people unable to comply with routine dental care, Guidelines for Oral health care for long-stay patients and residents, Guidelines for the development of local  standards of oral health care for dependent, dysphagic, critically and terminally ill patients, Oral health care for people with mental health problems, Guidelines for oral health care for people with a physical disability.

 

British Society for Restorative Dentistry

www.bsrd.org.uk

Crowns, fixed bridges and dental implants guidelines, Tooth wear guidelines, Restorative dentistry for new graduates; an information guide

 

British Society of Gerodontology

https://www.gerodontology.com/resources/downloads

Guidelines for the development of local standards of oral health care for people with dementia, Guidelines for the Oral Healthcare of Stroke Survivors.

 

British Society for Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology
https://www.bsomp.org.uk/downloads

The scope of oral pathology, Good practice in oral pathology.

 

British Society of Paediatric Dentistry
https://www.bspd.co.uk/Professionals/Resources/BSPD-Guidelines

Guidelines: Trauma guidelines for permanent dentition: Covid 19, Trauma guidelines for primary dentition: Covid 19, Clinical holding in the dental care of children, Treatment of avulsed permanent incisor teeth in children, National guidelines for dentists with special interests, Non pharmacological behaviour management, Management and root canal treatment of non-vital immature permanent incisor teeth, Guidelines for periodontal screening and management of children and adolescents.

https://www.bspd.co.uk/Professionals/Resources/Position-Statements

Position statements: Obesity and dental caries, Infant feeding, Water fluoridation, Molar Incisor Hypomineralisation

 

British Society of Periodontology

https://www.bsperio.org.uk/professionals/publications

BSP flowchart implementing the 2017 classification, Good practitioner’s Guide to Periodontology, BPE guidelines 2019, Parameters of care, Guidelines for Periodontal Patient Referral, Guidelines for Periodontal screening and management of children and adolescents under 18 years of age.

 

British Society of Prosthodontics

www.bsspd.org

The Guidelines in Prosthetic and Implant Dentistry, Guides to Standards in Prosthetic Dentistry - Complete and Partial Dentures, Guidelines on Standards for the Treatment of Patients using Endosseous Implants, Prosthetic Dentistry Glossary.

 

COPDEND Committee of Postgraduate Dental Deans and Directors
https://www.copdend.org/downloads-list/copdend-documents

Quality assurance framework for dental CPD, Guidelines for dental educators, Dental Gold Guide (Specialty Dental Training), Dental Silver Guide (Dental Core Training) .

 

Department of Health / Public Health England

www.phe.gov.uk

Dental antimicrobial stewardship: toolkit, Breastfeeding and dental health, Safeguarding in dental practice, Dental caries and obesity; their relationship in children, Decontamination in primary dental care practices (HTM01-05), Dental health: migrant health guide, Health matters: child dental health, Dental epidemiology toolkit for local authorities, Handheld dental x-ray equipment: guidance on safe use, Radiation protection and safety guidance for dental cone beam CT equipment, Covid 19: infection prevention and control, Smokefree and smiling, Adult oral health: applying All Our Health, Delivering better oral health: an evidence-based toolkit for prevention, Improving oral health: guideline development manual, Carbon modelling within dentistry: towards a sustainable future, Lasers intense light courses and LEDs, Oral care and people with learning disabilities, Child oral health: applying All Our Health, Improving oral health; community water fluoridation toolkit, General dentistry exposure prone procedure (EPP) categorization, Department of Health: Management and disposal of healthcare waste (HTM 07-01) and many more…

 

European Society of Endodontology

https://www.e-s-e.eu/publications/index.html

Quality guidelines for endodontic treatment

Position statements on: Management of deep caries and the exposed pulp,

Use of CBCT in endodontics, revitalization procedures, the use of antibiotics in Endodontics, External cervical resorption.

 

Faculty of General Dental Practitioners (FGDP) soon to become the College of General Dentistry

www.fgdp.org.uk

Implications of COVID-19 for the safe management of general dental practice, Dentistry during COVID-19: psychological advice for dental teams, policy makers and communicators,

Guidance Notes for Dental Practitioners on the Safe Use of X-ray Equipment

Standards in Dentistry,

Clinical Examination and Record-Keeping,

Selection Criteria for Dental Radiography,

Antimicrobial Prescribing in Dentistry,

Dementia-Friendly Dentistry,

Training Standards in Implant Dentistry

 

General Dental Council (UK)

https://www.gdc-uk.org/information-standards-guidance/standards-and-guidance

Standards for the dental team, Principles for Complaints Handling, Scope of Practice, Direct Access, More guidance: medical emergencies, industrial action guidance, list of useful organisations and guidance, mandatory reporting on female genital mutilation (FGM), The professional duty of candour, High level principles for good practice in remote consultations and prescribing, and Supplementary guidance on: advertising, child protection and vulnerable adults, commissioning and manufacturing dental appliances, indemnity, prescribing medicines, reporting criminal proceedings, using social media, position statement on tooth whitening.

 

International Association of Dental Traumatology

www.iadt-dentaltrauma.org

General introduction, Fractures and luxations, Avulsion of permanent teeth, Injuries in the primary dentition

 

NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence): Oral and Dental Health area:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/health-and-social-care-delivery/oral-health

Pathways: Prophylaxis against infective endocarditis, Oral health for adults in care homes, Oral health improvement for local authorities and their partners, Oral and dental health,

Guidance: Laser therapy for oral mucositis (IPG615), Prophylaxis against infective endocarditis: antimicrobial prophylaxis against IE in adults and children undergoing interventional procedures (CG64), Oral health for adults in care homes (NG48), Oral health promotion: general dental practice (NG30), Oral health: local authorities and partners (PH55), Mini/micro screw implantation for orthodontic anchorage (IPG238),  Therapeutic sialendoscopy (IPG218), HealOzone for the treatment of tooth decay (occlusal pit and fissure caries and root caries) (TA92), Dental checks: intervals between oral health reviews (CG19), Guidance on the Extraction of Wisdom Teeth (TA1)

Quality Standards: Oral health in care homes (QS151), Oral Health Promotion in the community (QS139)

 

Resuscitation Council (UK)

https://www.resus.org.uk/library/quality-standards-cpr/primary-dental-care

Quality standards: primary dental care, primary dental care equipment list

 

Royal College of Anaesthetists

www.rcoa.ac.uk

Guidelines for the Provision of Anaesthesia Services for ENT, Oral Maxillofacial and Dental surgery 2020, Standards for conscious sedation in the provision of dental care 2015

 

See also Guidelines for the management of children referred for dental extractions under general anaesthesia (2011 - Association of Paediatric Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland / British Society of Paediatric Dentristry)

 

Royal College of Surgeons England (Dental Faculties)

https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/dental-faculties/fds/publications-guidelines/clinical-guidelines

Antimicrobial Prescribing, Peri-radicular Surgery, NHS funded dental implant treatment, Oral Management of Oncology patients, Unerupted maxillary incisors, Palatally ectopic maxillary canines, Extraction of first permanent molars in children, Temporomandibular Disorders, Dental Erosion, Surgical Endodontics, Learning Disabilities; Standards for conscious sedation in the provision of dental care

 

Scottish Dental Clinical Effectiveness Program (SDCEP)

https://www.sdcep.org.uk

Acute Dental Problems, Antibiotic Prophylaxis, Anticoagulants and antiplatelets, Bisphosphonates, Caries in children, Conscious Sedation, Covid-19 practice recovery, Decontamination, Dental Amalgam, Drug Prescribing, Emergency Dental Care, MRONJ, Oral Health Assessment, Periodontal Care, Practice Management, SDCEP Dental Companion App,

 

Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN)  

www.sign.ac.uk

138. Dental interventions to prevent caries in children

 

United Kingdom Haemophilia Centre Doctors’ Organisation

http://www.ukhcdo.org/guidelines

Guidance on the dental management of patients with haemophilia and congenital bleeding disorders (2013)

Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland Guidelines

Search for guidelines, newsletters and standards from the AAGBI

Making Choices Together / 1000 Lives

Making Choices Together part of the Choosing Wisely Wales Partnership is the Welsh arm of an international movement promoting wise choices in healthcare with a particular focus on shared decision-making. 

Palliative Care Guidelines

Developed by a collaboration of UK Cancer Networks and the Welsh Palliative Care Implementation Group.

Royal College of Anaesthetists: Clinical Quality, Standards and Safety Publications

Guidelines and publications produced by the college applicable to all UK public and independent healthcare environments.

Royal College of Emergency Medicine Clinical Standards and Guidance

Access free standards and guidance produced by the Quality in Emergency Care Committee of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.

Royal College of General Practitioners Clinical Resources

Search through a range of clinical resources to support GP's, healthcare professionals and patients.

Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Guidelines

Access to guidelines procuced by the college detailing recognised methods and techniques for clinical practice, based on published evidence, for consideration by obstetricians/gynaecologists and other healthcare professionals.

Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health Endorsed and Supported Clinical Guidelines

High quality guidelines and standards produced and published by other organisations that are supported or endorsed by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

Royal College of Physicians Guidelines & Policy

Consultations, tools, policy and guidance produced by the college

Royal College of Radiologists Publications

Find a range of publications including standards for the delivery of high-quality oncology services, guidance on good practice and workforce reports.

Royal College of Surgeons Standards & Research

Access good practice, standards, guidance and research produced by the Royal College of Surgeons.

Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network: SIGN

Clinical guidelines produced for the NHS in Scotland

UK Blood Transfusion & Tissue Transplantation Guidelines

This site will be particularly useful for pharmacists, nurses and staff prescribing blood products.

WISDOM

WISDOM aims to provide healthcare staff and students in Wales with access to knowledge in the specialities of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Midwifery.

The Royal Marsden Manual of Clinical Nursing Procedures provides up-to-date, evidence-based clinical skills procedures related to essential aspects of a person’s care.

You can also use it for revalidation and the Royal Marsden have put together video explaining how.

Access the Royal Marsden Manual of Clinical Nursing Procedures

Not sure how to use it? follow these instructional videos.

Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) develops evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for the National Health Service (NHS) in Scotland.

 

Stahl Online

Discover the complete Stahl Online collection of teaching and learning neuropsychopharmacology resources, including e-Books, illustrated guides, handbooks and case studies, to support health and care professionals.  

View online or download chapters.

Search by topic or title, or refer to the list of titles available within the Stahl Online collection.

Visit the Stahl Drug Lookup to view the A-Z list of psychotropic drugs.

Available from the NHS Wales network or with NHS Wales OpenAthens accounts.

WISDOM aims to provide healthcare staff and students in Wales with access to knowledge in the specialties of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Midwifery.