Salisbury District Hospital "well prepared" for surge in Covid-19 cases
New CEO says there's no concern right now as there are no positive patients.
Stacey Hunter, Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust's new CEO, has said the hospital is well prepared if there was to be another surge in coronavirus cases.
So far Salisbury District Hospital has been largely unaffected since another rise in Covid-19 across the country, but they are ready if they start having more positive patients.
Stacey, who took on the CEO role at the beginning of September, says plans have constantly been in place in case of an outbreak:
"The hospital feels very well prepared for any surge in Covid-19 cases. We've been in constant preparation in our services and we've got all of our work in place around social distancing, wearing masks, hand washing and the extra cleaning we're doing to make sure staff and patients are safe."
From March to the 13th of June, the hospital saw 56 deaths relating to Covid-19 and they say that experience will help them if a second wave does eventually come.
The teams feel more confident about the clinical care that is needed and how to deal with the virus.
REASSURANCE FOR OTHER PATIENTS
There's also a plea to not be frightened to visit the hospital if you have an appointment for something that not coronavirus related.
Stacey says they are seeing people worried about turning up for sessions, but wanted to reassure people that they have a number of measures in place to keep everyone safe.
She told Greatest Hits Radio:
"If you are invited in for an appointment, and we're bring back quite a lot of our work that we had to step down earlier in the year, then please be reassured that we are following the appropriate guidance and that does help keep both the people who want to come in and our staff safe so we're really encouraging people to come in. If they are really worried then please get in touch with us and we can get our teams to talk to people and try to allay any fears that they may have."
Stacey also wanted to encourage anyone who is eligible for the flu jab to get it done.
FOLLOW THE GUIDANCE
There's a plea from the Chief Executive to make sure everyone is following the guidance.
She says that's the best way for the public to say thank you to all hospital staff for their help in keeping safe:
"The response to the pandemic from the staff has shown what amazing people we've got that come and work in our teams and they stepped up fantastically to the challenge that they've faced in the last few months but equally they're really grateful for the support they've got from the local community. Those things people do to recognise their efforts really do make a difference to staff, but our biggest plea to our community would be to continue to adhere to all of the measures we've been asked to around the virus.
I recognise that it's getting quite tiring because it's gone on for several months now and people would have hoped we'd be in a different place but it is really important that social distancing, wearing face coverings, getting the flu jab and whatever else it is we're being asked to do is the best thing people can do to help us."
For all advice on Coronavirus visit the NHS website.