People told not be afraid of going to hospital for urgent care
PEOPLE have been avoiding going to hospital when they need urgent treatment during the coronavirus pandemic, NHS bosses have said.
They have now appealed to those in such a situation to always seek medical help.
Gavin Boyle, chief executive at the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the Royal Derby Hospital and Burton’s Queen’s Hospital, said although they are seeing a significant rise in patients with coronavirus, measures have been put in place to stop it spreading to other patients.
This includes emergency patients being triaged when they arrive and all planned admissions tested in advance.
The plea has been echoed by South Derbyshire MP Heather Wheeler who said she is “too aware how concerns about catching the virus apparently stopped some people from seeking medical help during the first wave back in March”.
She said she was anxious to avoid this happening again as the country faces a second wave of the virus and urged people to go to the right places for treatment.
Mr Boyle said: “We are concerned about the increasing numbers of people who are testing positive for Covid19 within our communities.
“We had anticipated that rising infection rates in the area would eventually result in an increase in Covid-positive inpatients in our hospitals and sadly this has proven to be the case.
“We are now starting to see a significant rise in the numbers of patients being admitted to hospital with the virus but we want to reassure the public that our hospitals are safe and it is extremely important that anyone with significant non-Covid health concerns continues to come to us for help.
“We have proactively introduced a number of measures to keep our patients and staff safe, including the mandatory wearing of face masks in our hospitals and one-way systems to enable social distancing.
“Our emergency patients are also triaged when they arrive in hospital, with all those who are displaying symptoms, or are suspected of having the virus, being placed on our high risk pathway, so as to limit the spread of infection to others. Our planned admissions are all tested in advance.
Anyone with a serious or life threatening injuries or illness such as a stroke or heart attack should call 999 or visit the hospital A&E.
For less serious conditions call 111 or visit NHS 111 online who will give advice, book appointments to attend urgent treatment centres or direct the caller to go to A&E if necessary.