NHS Lanarkshire has established assessment centres for patients with suspected and confirmed COVID-19 (coronavirus). Patients whose symptoms have become worse, including increased shortness of breath, or whose symptoms have lasted more than seven days, should call NHS 24 on 111. If appropriate, Lanarkshire clinicians will call the patient back for a full clinical triage and to decide the best course of treatment.
Following triage, the patient may be directed to local support, offered an appointment at one of the Lanarkshire assessment centres or be directed to ambulance or hospital, if required. For people who require to go to one of the assessment centres, they will receive specific instructions on what to do when they arrive.
The two assessment centres for people who may need medical attention for COVID-19 are now up and running. The centres, located at Airdrie Community Health Centre and Douglas Street Clinic in Hamilton, are part of local emergency operational arrangements, in line with Scottish Government plans to help tackle the virus.
Only people who have been through the referral process described above will be seen in the Assessment Centres.
Craig Cunningham, Head of Commissioning and Performance, South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership, said: “It’s extremely important that people do not turn up at the assessment centres without an appointment. The appointment-only system is part of the many precautions we have taken to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19 for other members of the public using the buildings and for our staff.
“Each assessment centre has clear signage to ensure patients with an appointment know exactly where to go when they arrive. We understand that this is a very worrying time and we would like to thank everyone in advance for adhering to this advice.”
The assessment centres see and treat patients as efficiently as possible. They do not have overnight / long stay patients. If a patient needs to be admitted to hospital, they will be referred through the normal process.
Advice for patients with COVID-19 symptoms:
- Patients with coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms should call NHS 24 on 111, day or night, if their symptoms worsen or do not improve after seven days.
- Please do not call your practice or go to the surgery. If you require a sick note due to coronavirus, you can get this from nhsinform.scot/coronavirus, in the ‘General advice’ section.
- The NHS inform website provides patients with a straightforward dedicated route to clinical advice and support.
- Callers to the 111 helpline will be assessed and, if necessary, their information will be forwarded to a local community hub in Lanarkshire staffed by clinicians from across the healthcare system. The staff at the hub will call them back. These call backs will be triaged and we thank you in advance for your patience.
- Depending on their assessment, patients may be given advice to help them continue self-isolating at home or be given an appointment to attend a local assessment centre for further treatment.
- NHS inform’s coronavirus webpage is still the fastest way for people to get the latest health advice and information. There is also a free NHS 24 helpline for people without symptoms looking for general information on coronavirus. Call 0800 028 2816
- For patients who do not have coronavirus symptoms, they should continue to telephone their practice when open and not call NHS 24.
- In the out-of-hours period, when displaying symptoms other than coronavirus, you should only call 111 if you need urgent assessment and cannot wait until your practice is open.
