Restart of planned care services
Posted: 31 July 2020
West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust (WHHT) is now accepting routine GP referrals for patients who are waiting for a non-urgent appointment with a specialist.
The trust stopped accepting referrals at the end of March, other than for
urgent or suspected cancer cases, to focus efforts and resources on treating
COVID-19 patients.
With infection rates dropping and fewer patients now being treated for COVID-19,
WHHT is working with Herts Valleys Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to restart
services in a way that ensures safety for patients and staff.
Hospital specialists and senior GPs are working together to review patient
lists, reassess patients’ needs and agree the best course of action in every
case – making sure that patients with the most urgent needs are prioritised.
During the pandemic the hospital trust has been carrying out patient
consultations by video or phone wherever possible and this will continue as
appointments open up. As well as being more convenient for patients, reducing
visits to hospital sites is in everyone’s interests.
For some patients, the best course of treatment may be for their GP to manage
their care with advice and guidance from a hospital specialist.
WHHT is managing the risk of infection to make sure that patients needing to go
into hospital for an appointment or treatment, and staff working in hospitals,
will be as safe as possible.
Steps being taken include:
• Holding appointments in a different area or building from those used for
COVID-19 patients
• Following required infection prevention measures including staff wearing
personal protective equipment, cleaning rooms between appointments, patients
using face coverings and hand sanitiser and social distancing in public areas.
• Asking patients about COVID-19 symptoms
WHHT deputy chief executive Helen Brown says: “We are doing all we can to ensure
that all west Hertfordshire residents have the care they need as soon as
possible and are looking at each patient’s needs on a case by case basis. It
will take some time to get all services up and running and patients with a
non-urgent condition will inevitably have to wait considerably longer than
usual.
“Due to the reorganisation of how services are delivered, some services may be
delivered in different locations, and patients may be treated in a different
place to where they were expecting.
“The safety of patients and staff is our top priority as we restart our planned
care services across west Hertfordshire.”
Ends
1. For more information, please contact the communications team on: 01923
436280 or email: westherts.communications@nhs.uk. Out of hours, please call the
Watford General Hospital switchboard on 01923 244366 and ask for the on call
communications manager.
2. West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust serves people from across
Hertfordshire, north London and further afield. It operates from three
hospitals; Watford General, St Albans City and Hemel Hempstead. The trust has a
catchment area of over 500,000 people and is one of the largest employers
locally, with around 5,000 staff and volunteers.
3. For more information about our hospitals, visit
www.westhertshospitals.nhs.uk. You can also join our followers on Twitter
(twitter.com/westhertsNHS) and find us on Facebook (facebook.com/westhertsNHS).
