As hospitals across Europe are facing unprecedented challenges in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, with different levels of severity and expansion, the ERN Board of Member States has issued a Statement in support of the Covid-19 Communication Support System (Covid-19 CMSS) initiative launched by the European Commission. The members of the Board refer to fundamental European principles such as universality, access to good quality care, equity and solidarity, and commit to promoting the initiative, as appropriate, in their countries.

The Covid-19 CMSS aims to allow clinicians to communicate easily with any other colleagues across the EU and the EEA to exchange knowledge and to discuss cases. Healthcare professionals have access to a database of contacts set up by the DG SANTE CMSS helpdesk and can benefit from its support in setting up web conferences with the hospitals they would like to connect with. At the same time, DG SANTE is working with the coordinators to organise a series of webinars to pool the expertise and share the recommendations of several experts from the 24 ERNs on managing challenging cases of patients suffering both from Covid-19 and a rare or complex disease or condition.