Yahoo News Some hospitals in England won't take coronavirus patients under new plans to keep up usual care
Some English hospitals won't treat Covid-19 patients under NHS plans to keep up usual care during a second wave of the pandemic.
Others are to have Covid-free zones to enable treatments to continue and minimise the risk of patients becoming infected with the virus.
The Covid-free hospitals will instead focus on other common pre-planned operations including hip and knee surgeries and cancer care, according to a report in The Guardian.
Worries have previously been raised that patients put off seeking help for other illnesses during the first peak over concerns they may contract the virus if they went to hospital.
This, and the reduction of services during the first peak in the spring, have helped contribute to a big backlog of people in need of care.
The Guardian reported that NHS regions across England have been told to come up with plans to keep elective care going as much as possible even if coronavirus again puts significant pressure on hospitals.
Cities are much more likely to have entire hospitals designated coronavirus-free than rural and coastal parts of England, because of large distances between centres, it added.
The Whittington Hospital in north London has been designated as a coronavirus-free site.
This means it can continue to provide non-urgent planned surgery with a reduced risk of patients becoming infected with coronavirus while on wards.
Covid-19 patients who would usually be treated at the hospital will instead be cared for at University College London hospital or the Royal Free, the newspaper said.
Commenting on the plans, Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, said: “This time round it makes sense to put arrangements in place to ensure that as much routine care as possible can continue, including identifying Covid and non-Covid sites.
“This approach can reduce the impact of necessary but burdensome infection control measures, such as deeper and more frequent cleaning and the need to wear and change cumbersome protective equipment, which should mean that there is greater capacity to treat and care for patients.
“Much has been learnt since the first wave of the pandemic.”
Read more
This is all our problem, Whitty warns as he hints at social curbs-LIVE
Brits being treated like children during pandemic, says top Tory
Testing mystery as confirmed London cases fall despite virus spreading
Stock markets around the globe plunge on coronavirus second wave fears
Revealed: The latest confirmed coronavirus cases by London borough
