Senior health care leaders from the Tees Valley and County Durham have come together in creating a video message to let the public know that their hospitals are still open, and people should not ignore crucial life limiting symptoms.
Susan Green, Consultant Colorectal Surgeon from Country Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, Barney Green, Vascular Surgeon at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Chris Wells, Consultant Gastroenterologist from North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust have joined in voice to explain how hospital settings are a different environment because of COVID-19, but still offer the same services as before the pandemic.
From cancer diagnostics, treatments and operations, heart attacks, strokes and other ailments, the NHS says it is important that patients do not ignore any symptoms that might require urgent attention.
Chris Wells explains that as well as hospitals being open for business that GPs are also open for referrals ‘it is important that if you do have any concerns about your health that you contact your health care provider, GPs are open and link into our hospitals where necessary. It’s important not to ignore your symptoms – please do come forward’.
Reassure patients
Explaining about the change to hospital settings, Susan Green said ‘our hospitals have put a lot of measures in place to reduce risk for patients. You will need to wear a mask, and you will need to socially distance. We would like to reassure patients that we have made our hospitals as safe as possible – with supplies of PPE, patient and staff testing where appropriate, patient self-isolation prior to elective admission and protected operating theatres and wards’.
Since the pandemic hit earlier this year, Barney Green says that the number of patients they would ordinarily see has reduced ‘one really worrying thing we have noticed over the past three or four months is the significant number of drop off in people seeking help for urgent conditions, I think we can understand why that’s the case, people have been desperately worried about contracting Coronavirus, and we can understand that – but cancer, heart attacks, strokes – these big life limiting conditions are really really important to deal with. Don’t ignore the symptoms for fearing getting the virus’.
The risk of dying from Covid-19 is far less than that if you ignore your symptoms.
The message is clear from the three organisations ‘the NHS is still open for business, the staff are there to help you and it is safe to come. If you have concerns – contact your health provider, don’t ignore symptoms and don’t delay, get in touch’.
The video can be viewed in full below
Transcript
[Logos for North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust , County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust and South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust)
[Caption] Should I come to hospital?
[Susan Green] I’m Miss Susan Green, a consultant colorectal surgeon at the University Hospital at North Durham…
[Barney Green] …My name is Barney Green, I’m one of the vascular surgeons here at James Cook University Hospital…
[Chris Wells] …My name is Chris Wells, I’m a gastroenterologist at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust.
[Susan Green] All of our hospitals are still very much open for business…
[Barney Green] …so many people have thought that during the pandemic the hospital had closed to all operations and medical care except for coronavirus cases and that’s simply not true…
[Chris Wells] …our hospitals and all the hospitals in the region are still offering the same amount of service that we normally would do that would include cancer diagnostics, cancer treatments cancer operations and all forms of emergency treatment…
[Barney Green] …so this is the management of heart attacks strokes urgent surgeries and things that simply could not wait for the pandemic to pass…
[Chris Wells] …so if you do have any concerns about your health or any new symptoms it’s important that you do report them to your gp as you would do normally. The GPs practices are open and they do link into the hospital where necessary so it’s important not to ignore your symptoms and please do come forward…
[Susan Green] …the hospital has put a lot of measures in place to reduce the risks of patients who attend the hospital contract in code with 19 as long as you apply comply with these measures the risks will be much less than the benefits of attending the necessary investigations. You will need to wear a mask when you attend the hospital land you will need to keep this on in all corridors and clinical areas you will need to socially distance where possible in all areas…
[Susan Green] …but there is plenty of hand sanitiser throughout the hospital…
[Chris Wells] …so a lot of people in the community will be anxious about coming to hospital and worried that they may pick up coronavirus if they come to hospital and it’s important that the public are reassured the hospitals are safe and clean…
[Susan Green] …we would also like to reassure all our patients that we have made our hospitals as safe as possible for both patients and staff with supplies of personal protective equipment patient and staff testing patient self-isolation prior to elective admissions and protected operating theatres and wards for elective patients.
[Barney Green] One worrying thing we’ve really noticed over the last three or four months is the significant drop-off in number of people seeking help for urgent conditions such as cancers. I think we can understand why that’s the case people have been desperately worried about contracting coronavirus and we can understand that but cancer heart attack stroke these big life limiting conditions are really, really important to deal with. Don’t ignore the symptoms for fear of getting coronavirus. If you have signs and symptoms of cancer, you must seek help and we will do our utmost best to prioritise you and to get you the care at the right time and in the right place.
[Chris Wells] Even if you don’t feel your condition is an emergency, we do have a lot of urgent care and routine services available that we can help diagnose any conditions that people are worried about the hospital is open and it’s safe to visit.
[Barney Green] And the people to talk to starting off would be NHS 111 – dial that number it’s quite simple or go to the 111 webpage to get advice. There’s also your general practitioner, I wouldn’t just turn up at the front door I would certainly phone them I’ll talk through your problem in the first instance and then we can go from there.
[Susan Green] The one message that I would like to give to the public is that for the majority the risks of dying from COVID-19 is far less than the risk of dying cancer or any other serious illness if the diagnosis is delayed because you ignore your symptoms.
[Chris Wells]our hospitals are open the staff are all here to help you and it is safe to come and join us
[Susan Green] …so please contact either your GP or your practice nurse…
[Barney Green] …we are here for you we are open for you if we call you to come it’s for a reason we’re doing everything that we can to keep you as safe as possible if you have problems please talk before you walk and at all times try your utmost best to do everything you can to protect yourself, to protect the NHS to control this virus and to save lives.
[Caption] Don’t delay, get urgent help today
