NHS Lanarkshire is to begin gentle remobilisation of some non-urgent elective procedures.
As part of the gradual reintroduction of elective procedures, NHS Lanarkshire is increasing the number of endoscopy procedures over the coming weeks. Patients will be kept informed of any new appointment or cancellation.
The decision was taken in January to temporarily postpone all non-urgent elective procedures and a targeted range of outpatient appointments. A number of clinically urgent and priority procedures were not affected.
This allowed NHS Lanarkshire to focus acute service delivery on Covid-19 inpatients and emergency care. Treatments for urgent cancer care remained in place and all three acute sites continue to operate an emergency service for theatres and diagnostics.
The number of patients being treated in Lanarkshire hospitals with Covid-19 has now dropped to 15 as of today (Monday 10 May), falling from a high of around 350 during the second half of January. There is one Covid patients in ICU following a peak of 25 in late January.
Judith Park, NHS Lanarkshire director of acute services, said: “As part of NHS Lanarkshire’s plan to safely redesign and restart services affected by Covid-19, we are now in a position to gradually and safely restart some non-urgent elective care.
“Due to all the infection prevention and control measures required in our hospitals to ensure the safety of staff and patients, there are still a number of challenges in restarting services and we are asking the public for their continued patience and understanding.
“As part of our initial gentle remobilisation, we will be increasing our capacity over the next couple of weeks for endoscopy procedures for patients in a low-risk pathway – patients who are asymptomatic, have isolated at home for a short period prior to the treatment and have no known contact with a Covid case.”
NHS Lanarkshire is able to reduce physical distancing to one metre in endoscopy units following updated Health Improvement Scotland (HIS) and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) guidance.
Judith added: “This has allowed us to increase our capacity and see more patients. Other infection prevention and control measures such as wearing a face mask and robust hand washing must remain in place.
“Staff have worked tirelessly treating Covid and non-Covid patients throughout the pandemic and the safety of staff and patients is of paramount importance. We continue to take all necessary action to ensure safe and effective patient care.
“Appointments will continue to be prioritised on clinical need. Patients will receive a letter, text message or voice message giving details of their new appointment.
“Patients who continue to have their appointment postponed will be notified by text message. The decision to postpone any appointment is not one that we take lightly and I apologise for the impact on patients.”
Appointments for urgent referrals, including cancer referrals, maternity and neonatal clinics have continued throughout the pandemic.
