Praise for NHS staff

STAFF at NHS Tayside have been praised for their efforts during the coronavirus outbreak.

The comments were made at a board meeting when health chiefs discussed the first 100 days of Covid-19 in the region.

Since the start of the pandemic, the health board has set up a “hospital within a hospital” at Ninewells, with 290 beds specifically for coronavirus-positive patients, and ICU capacity was quadrupled.

Green zones were set up at both Ninewells and Perth Royal Infirmary to make sure patients who needed treatment were still able to attend hospital.

Medical director Professor Peter Stonebridge said: “Our staff have adapted incredibly quickly and that is thanks to everyone’s patience and resilience.”

Meanwhile, staff at Dundee Dental Hospital have been thanked after many were redeployed to help with the response.

Over the past f ew months, the dental hospital has stayed open as one of four urgent dental care centres i n Tayside – during lockdown these sites have seen more than 6,200 patients.

However, a number of staff were redeployed elsewhere in NHS Tayside, including as health care assistants, porters, drivers, radiographers, domestics, administrators, nurses, clinical support workers and technicians.

A spokeswoman for N H S Ta y s i d e s a i d : “There is also a presurgical isolation screening pathway taking place for patients undergoing planned urgent surgery in Ninewells which is run by dentists, clinical support workers, and nurses.

“A phlebotomy service and a mask fitting service has also been running at Dundee Dental Hospital, as well as Kings Cross Hospital, Broxden Dental Centre and Springfield in Arbroath.”