Georgetown Hospital Resilience Measures
13 March 2020
Government
Change to hospital procedures to protect hospital staff and the general public in view of the developing COVID-19 pandemic
The international situation regarding the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to develop on a daily basis. As a part of the ongoing preparations for a possible COVID-19 outbreak on island, measures to safeguard hospital staff and the wider hospital environment from unnecessary exposure to the virus are being put in place.
These are designed to limit the possibility of critical staff being exposed to the virus, as well as to protect potentially vulnerable patients who may be attending the hospital for care.
To this end the following new measures will be introduced with effect from Monday 16 March:
- The hospital waiting room will be closed. The new waiting area will be situated on the veranda in seating appropriately spaced to avoid close contact between visitors and/or patients.
- All consultations will be by appointment. Those wishing to attend the hospital need to telephone 66252 for an appointment before 10:00 each day. When arranging an appointment, individuals may be asked to provide details to the nurse as to the nature of your requested visit. If appropriate, the duty doctor may call you back to discuss the matter in further detail by telephone.
- Patients are requested to arrive no more than five minutes before their appointment, and to leave as soon as possible after they have been seen by hospital staff. Prescriptions will be filled at the pharmacy for collection when ready, and patients will be asked to remain seated until called for their medication.
- Unless in an emergency, any persons coming to the hospital without an appointment will not be seen at that time. They will be asked to return at an allotted time after having followed the process outlined above, and having booked an appointment by telephone. Appointments will not be given to persons arriving at the hospital without a prior arranged appointment. We understand that this will cause some frustration, but the purpose of this is to avoid having groups of persons at the hospital at the same time.
- If you do miss an appointment, please do not come to the hospital unannounced. Any individual who does this will not be seen. Instead please simply phone the hospital and re-book your appointment. Rest assured every effort will be made to accommodate your needs.
- Patients with chronic conditions requiring regular review will be seen by appointment, either with the doctor, or with the nurse concerned. In most cases, regular review appointments will be scheduled further apart than would normally be the case. However please be assured that all patients needing review will be seen as required. As with the practice for non-scheduled review appointments, please phone the hospital for your review appointment before attending in person to ensure a time has been confirmed.
- For those on chronic repeat prescriptions:
- Phone the hospital 48 hours before your medicine is due to be refilled.
- Your refill prescription will be prepared for collection from the pharmacy at the time specified.
- Simply come to the hospital and collect your prescription at the pickup point designated for chronic medicines.
It is important that members of the public note that these measures are not designed to limit access to hospital services, but are being put in place to avoid unnecessary exposure to possible infection. Doing so will ensure continuity of our service and access to care for those who require it.
