Thank you for following the link from the text message or letter you have received from Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and this has been sent to you because you are currently waiting for surgery or a procedure in our hospital.
We know the length of wait may be a concern for people; therefore we are contacting all our patients to understand their current situation. We want to do everything we can to see and treat people fairly and safely within the quickest possible time, starting with those with the greatest clinical need and to reassure our patients that despite the delays caused by COVID, the hospital has not forgotten about you and that you are still in our systems.
We hope this information will explain the impact that the current COVID-19 pandemic may have on your treatment, advise you on the measures we are taking to keep you safe in our hospitals and to involve you in decisions about your care at this time.
Please find below, a general update on the current situation, some frequently asked questions and finally a response form for you to let us know if you would like to make any changes to your planned care. If we do not receive any response from you, we will assume that you simply wish to continue with your treatment in turn on the waiting list and we will be in touch again in due course with details of your planned admission / attendance.
Please feel free to ask friends or family to help you to read and understand this information and to complete the questions below or if you need help from the hospital, do contact your treating team, who will be able to talk through the information with you and record your responses on your behalf.
COVID-19 is a viral infection that is passed from person to person and mainly effects the lungs and breathing. It first emerged in the UK at the beginning of 2020 and is now a pandemic – meaning that it is affecting people in many parts of the world. In the UK, the first surge of the Pandemic peaked in April and resulted in high levels of hospital admissions and deaths.
The virus is highly infective and is transmitted by airborne droplets, which may be directly inhaled, or may settle on surfaces and subsequently be picked up on hands or other objects that are brought into contact with the face and mouth. Everybody is susceptible to infection, but elderly people, those with pre-existing medical conditions and individuals from Black and Asian backgrounds are particularly at risk of complications or of death caused by the infection. The country is currently experiencing a “second surge” in infections, with another rise in infections, hospital admissions and deaths.
During the first surge in infections, COVID-19 was a new disease, which the medical community had little experience of treating and most planned surgery was halted in order for efforts to be concentrated on COVID treatment. This approach allowed large numbers of doctors and nurses to be diverted to COVID care, but a consequence was that the waiting list for procedures rapidly built up and waiting times were prolonged.
Many lessons were learnt from the first COVID surge and hospitals are now able to protect patients and staff by separating planned admissions from emergency cases and COVID tests are now also widely available. This means that we are now able to safely continue with planned surgery and procedures during the second surge with minimal, though not zero chance of infection whilst bing within our hospitals.
The prolonged waiting list has led to a National system of prioritisation to ensure that the most critical patients receive treatment first and there are 4 categories of priority ranging from 1-4.
- Immediately life-threatening / limiting conditions requiring treatment during an inpatient admission within 24-72 hours. (This category of patients do not enter a waiting list)
- Patients requiring urgent treatment, necessary within 1 month. Typical patients may have cancer that may progress or spread, or underlying conditions that will worsen or treatments be less effective if not delivered in a very short timescale.
- Patients requiring treatment within 3 months. Typical patients may have cancer that is not at immediate risk of progression or spread and other conditions that may worsen or treatments that could be less effective if not delivered within 3 months
- Patients requiring treatment that can be delivered beyond 3 months, without worsening outcome. Patients in group 4 may have painful or unpleasant conditions, but these symptoms an often be reduced or eliminated by medications, physiotherapy or other non-surgical treatments
Your Priority Group has been assessed by a doctor and has been recorded as Priority 3. You can therefore expect to receive your treatment within 3 months, though occasionally this time may be extended by the need for additional investigations or other factors.
A doctor examined your case based on the procedure you are waiting for and the underlying condition and used the national guidelines to assign your Priority Group.
The team coordinating your care will be in touch shortly to arrange a pre-operative assessment and a date for your procedure. You will receive details on where and when to attend and you will need to visit the swabbing unit 72 hours before your planned admission to undergo a COVID test. You must isolate at home for the 72 hours between your COVID test and your admission and full details of this process will be outlined with your admission letter.
When you come in to hospital, you will be treated in a “Green” area, which is reserved for patients undergoing planned procedures and who have all tested negative for COVID. You will need to wear a mask while moving around the hospital and you will notice that our staff will all be wearing masks as well. The departments have been organized so that your care will be provided in different areas to those looking after COVID positive or patients who have not undergone COVID tests.
There is certainly an increased risk of contracting COVID whilst in hospital than there is from being at home, however all of the steps we have taken to separate and test patients undergoing planned care reduces these risks to a level that is as low as it possibly can be.
Given that you have been placed in Priority Group 3, the hospital strongly recommends that the urgency of your treatment outweighs any risk from being in hospital.
Of course, the final decision as to whether to undergo treatment or not is entirely your own. In Priority Group 3 however, the urgency of treatment is significant and we would strongly urge you to proceed as planned.
