Hi ladies just thought I’d let you know that my operation has been cancelled because of Coronavirus!!! Had to take my surgeons advice on this, who knows when it will be back on the cards! Has anyone else been affected?
From Swansea bay nhs
IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
COVID-19: temporary changes to some of our services
In response to the coronavirus situation, Swansea Bay University Health Board is making temporary changes to the way we deliver some of our services.
We hope you will understand that we must re-prioritise how we use our staff and resources during this extremely challenging time. Our focus is on keeping patients safe, and ensuring everything possible is done to provide care to those who need it the most.
This means some patients will have to wait longer than we would like for their planned surgery or treatment, if it is not clinically urgent. Many outpatient appointments will also be postponed.
All these appointments, which have been reviewed by clinicians, will now be deferred to a date after the COVID-19 situation has resolved.
We apologise for the inconvenience or distress this may cause, but ask you to please bear with us. We will be contacting patients directly who are affected by this, and will reschedule their care as soon as possible.
Please be assured that emergency surgery and operations for cancer and other clinically urgent conditions will continue. Likewise, all urgent outpatient appointments will continue. If you do not hear from us, please attend your appointment as planned.
We are also making changes to how we manage our outpatients service. We will, as much as possible, be making use of technology to review patients virtually, or carry out telephone consultations instead of face-to-face ones.
This will avoid the need for people with outpatient appointments to journey to hospital, which will support the wider efforts to control the spread of the virus, particularly among vulnerable members of our communities. It will also free up our clinical staff to help care for inpatients.
Physiotherapy:
Physio walk-in clinics are now suspended. However the Physio Direct telephone triage opening hours will be extended to 9am to 1pm Monday to Friday: 01792 487453 or 01639 683167/683168. Patients with follow up appointments which are already booked will be contacted by phone.
Only essential and urgent clinical cases will be seen in person. This applies the muscular-skeletal, neurology, paediatrics and women’s health across all health board sites.
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Antenatal clinic appointments either in the community with your midwife, or in the hospital with midwifery or medical staff will continue, is we can monitor your pregnancy.
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Click here for more information about COVID-19 and pregnancy: www.rcog.org.uk/.../
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If a child needs to go to the Emergency Department at Morriston Hospital, please do not attend as a family. Instead, choose one parent or carer only to accompany the child. This is to manage the number of people in the department.
Sexual health clinics
Sexual health departments across the health board will be on an appointment-only basis for the foreseeable future. Tel 0300 5550279, Monday to Thursday 8am to 4.30pm and Friday 8am to 12.30pm
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Currently we have an open, flexible visiting policy on most wards. However, given the current situation we need you to help us by keeping the number of visitors to a minimum, and over a shorter period if possible. This will help us reduce the spread of infection.
If you do visit, please wash your hands thoroughly and use the hand sanitisers at the entrance to every ward. Also, please adhere to our visiting policy of no more than two visitors per patient.
We would prefer you to come between 2pm and 6pm if you can. But we understand each patient has individual needs of which family care and involvement could be key to their recovery. We would also like you to discuss with the individual ward sister/charge nurse if your family member has individualised needs.
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We also understand the importance of patients retaining contact with their loved ones. To enable that, if you can’t be there in person, we do offer free WiFi throughout our hospitals. So for those with access to smartphones or tablets, we would encourage virtual visiting as a great way to keep in touch.
We will be further reviewing our visiting policies once we have further discussions with patient representation groups.
Testing for COVID-19
The focus has now switched from community testing for COVID-19 to testing patients in hospitals. If you have COVID-19 symptoms, including a new persistent cough and fever, please self-isolate for seven days. Only ring 111 if your symptoms worsen.
My daugher is at Swansea uni, she has mailed to say lectures are cancelled after the 20th March.
I am a little concerned as I have a scan on the 30th March at Bridgend. My GP said that there is a 21 month wait (!!!) for this scan so a little bit worried that it might be cancelled. (DEXA scan as I have osteopenia and I am on letrozole)
I am a teacher and today it was obvious that some pupils are staying at home. From a purely professional viewpoint I will be gutted if schools close, as my exam classes are so prepared for their exams.
From a personal viewpoint I read today that people on medication to reduce high blood pressure, may be affected. Shit my medication was mentioned.
Cwtches to all,
Gay xxx
wombat.23 I saw uni closed except for medic/nursing & midwifery students. School pupils are the least at risk it's older staff more vulnerable but closing schools means no childcare for many nhs staff who need to work and prevents sending children to grandparents for care! I think they will cave though and close schools! WRU caved eventually today to cancel Wales V Scotland. Very last minute but concerts still going ahead ! I think the hand washing advice is fake prevention news. You simply cannot avoid touching things! The fact is the majority of population will catch the virus but so many will be symptom free so not know. They admit they want us to catch it for herd immunity! They are refusing to test all so true scale set will be guesstimate. Self isolating won't prevent virus as you could just have common cold and think you are virus free after isolation period. I'm focusing on staying calm as stress weakens immune system but I did check my diabetes medication !
Hi, sorry I should have said deferred not cancelled! It has been put back at least 3 months! My operation was to have been a mastectomy and immediate DIEP reconstruction . My surgeon said she could do the mastectomy right away but as I’m only a few weeks post chemo she didn’t recommend it. I had to take her advice. Disappointed but it is what it is. I’m on Letrozole so that helps. So that will be me back to box 1 sometime in June/July.
Hi Bramblebee,
Ahh sorry to hear that it's another wait. Did they tell you the reason why it's been pushed back? Is it because you may have already had the chemo and it is too soon after all? I've got my onco appointment Monday and want this lump out of me ASAP. I can't even bear to touch it in the shower. Oh and we'll done for getting through the chemo and at least they have your sorted out the medication too. In the meantime try and relax and enjoy some time recovering before your op.... Build up strength till then.
Hugs
Hi @Jostar my op was cancelled due to Coronavirus!
Unbelievably I had a call from my surgeon this morning. They want to go ahead with a mastectomy with reconstruction later. It will be done in a different hospital than planned, one with no Coronavirus patients. Been thinking since they called, what if something goes wrong or I need help a few days after, the only place I can go are hospitals with known virus cases. No idea what to do!! That rollercoaster again!!
I know what you mean, but that's what my concern is too with hospitals now treating corona and patients like us with chemo, operations going in and coming out worse. I was told that we would be prioritied but it just goes to show. Im feeling so concerned too. Xxx
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