Covid-19
What we are doing at Royal Surrey
The safety of our patients and staff is our top priority. As cases of Covid-19 continue to rise across the South-East, including Surrey, our teams are very busy and we expect that to continue over the coming weeks. As a result, the local NHS has been working as a system to put measures in place that will enable us to prioritise how we provide care, focusing on those patients who are critically ill. These measures include:
- Postponing some routine and non-urgent elective procedures and operations.
- Continuing to prioritise those who need urgent and cancer care.
- Working together as a system with partners, to enable additional bed capacity, deployment of staff, as well as timely and safe discharge of our patients into the community, to support our Covid-19 response.
- Moving more of our outpatient services to virtual appointments to reduce the need for patients to come to our sites, which in turn reduces the risk of increasing levels of Covid-19 transmission. Importantly, patients who have booked appointments should still attend; if we need to reschedule an appointment patients will be contacted directly.
Both staff and patients at the Trust will be required to wear a face covering/mask. Face coverings can be made of cloth and be reusable in line with government guidance. In line with Public Health England (PHE) guidance, we are screening all patients for Covid-19 before planned and urgent admissions.
Patients can ask the staff in charge of their care any questions related to Covid-19.
We would like to thank the public for their support at this time, and remind people to follow the national guidance to reduce the spread of Covid-19; this will help protect our families, keep frontline services running and save lives.
Visiting information for Royal Surrey, and our community hospitals
Visiting information from 22/12/20
Royal Surrey County Hospital, as well as our community hospital sites, will be closed to all visitors, except for the following:
- Maternity remains unchanged and we are following the national guidance.
- Paediatric visiting remains the same, with only one parent/carer allowed to visit per patient.
- Patients at the end of life can have up to a maximum four visitors, however this must be agreed by the nurse in charge or based on patient location considerations.
- Patients who require the assistance of a carer e.g. learning disability.
If you have anything you would like to drop off to a patient, please use our Patient Property Drop-off service (you can find more information below).
Ward specific rules
Hascombe Ward
- One parent/carer allowed to visit per patient.
Special Care Baby Unit
- One parent can stay overnight and the other parent may visit between 8am-8pm daily, subject to the activity on the unit.
Maternity
- One partner from the same household is welcome to attend the 12 and 20 weeks ultrasound scan only.
- One partner to support women on the Antenatal Ward during the daytime.
- One partner to support the woman on the Postnatal Ward from 9am - 8pm.
- Two birth partners are welcome to accompany any women while they are on the delivery suite - this is not dependant on stage of labour.
- Read more about maternity visting restrictions here.
These changes are subject to review, so please check this information regularly for updates.
Vaccine information
We are one of 50 hsopital hubs beginning to deliver the vaccine. You can read more information about the vaccine here.
People aged 80 and over as well as care home workers will be first to receive the jab, along with NHS workers who are at higher risk.
Staff will contact patients to invite them in for appointments and offer the vaccine. Please do not contact, or visit, the hospital to seek a vaccine before then.
Information for families and friends of inpatients with COVID-19
The ICU and Medical teams have written two documents which provide information for families and friends of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19.
These are:
Information for families of inpatients with COVID-19
Information for families saying goodbye from a distance
Adult Community Service
Our district and community nursing service is continuing but they will prioritise urgent and semi-urgent cases.
If you or a member of your household have symptoms of Coronavirus* and are expecting a home visit from a member of the community or district nursing team, please contact the Community Co-ordination Centre.
Our district and community nursing team routinely wear a uniform when they are visiting patients and when they travel between patients. They are therefore extremely experienced at carrying out risk assessments to ensure they follow appropriate infection control and prevention practices and use the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect their uniform from contamination.
*Coronavirus symptoms are:
- a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
- a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
- a loss, or change, of smell or taste.
Advice for cancer patients
We have reviewed and adapted our cancer services. We have put specific arrangements in place for each service as detailed on our St Luke’s cancer centre page.
A set of frequently asked questions has been developed by the One Cancer Voice group of charities.
Rheumatology advice and guidance
Support and information for parents and families
Surrey Heartlands has created a new information sheet for Surrey parents, highlighting the health and wellbeing services and support available to them during Covid-19.
This includes information on new local initiatives including the DadPad App, HANDi app and the new virtual postnatal peer support groups which are just starting, alongside existing services such as the Children and Family Health Surrey Advice Line and national resources like Every Mind Matters.
Overseas charging - All visitors to the UK
As Coronavirus has been declared a pandemic, all treatment for the virus is free to all no matter your immigration status.
Elective surgery advice
Patients will be swabbed 72 hours before their procedure. They will then need to self-isolate until admission.
Hands, Face, Space
Washing your hands
While coronavirus is not likely to survive for long periods of time on outdoor surfaces in sunlight, it can live for more than 24 hours in indoor environments. Washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, or using hand sanitizer, regularly throughout the day will reduce the risk of catching or passing on the virus. Please ensure you are washing your hands regularly and using hand sanitiser when you can.
Covering your face
Coronavirus is carried in the air by tiny respiratory droplets that carry the virus. Larger droplets can land on other people or on surfaces they touch while smaller droplets, called aerosols, can stay in the air indoors for at least five minutes, and often much longer if there is no ventilation. Face coverings reduce the dispersion of these droplets, meaning if you’re carrying the virus you’re less likely to spread it when you exhale.
All staff, and visitors to the hospital, are required to wear a face mask or covering when walking around the Trust and/or are unable to keep a two metre distance.
Making space
Transmission of the virus is most likely to happen within two metres, with risk increasing exponentially at shorter distances. While keeping this exact distance isn’t always possible, remaining mindful of surroundings and continuing to make space has a powerful impact when it comes to containing the spread. Please continue to keep at least a two metre distance from others.
Shielding guidance
Coronavirus testing in Surrey
You can find relevant information on testing in Surrey here.
A revised, bespoke page clearly sets out who is now eligible for a test, how to book, information about the different types of tests available, and useful videos explaining how testing is carried out.