Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
‘Staff are working around the clock’
The measures are being taken as a clear indication of how serious an impact hospital bosses believe the crisis could have on the county.
Wilf Williams, the accountable officer for NHS Kent, says its staff are working around the clock in preparation. “Our hospitals and community providers across Kent and Medway are working very hard to care for those members of our community who have needed hospital admission due to Covid-19, as well as making preparations to support more of these patients in hospital should that be necessary,” he said.
“This has meant that across the region we are changing the way we provide care, using wards and other clinical space in different ways and making sure that we prepare as fully as possible to tackle coronavirus – increasing the available capacity every day. “This includes looking at how we currently utilise our brilliant, hard-working staff and whether they can be redeployed from their existing duties and into roles that support our coronavirus response.”
Mr Williams says the measures will have a knock-on effect to other patients, with non-essential services reduced or cancelled.
Many outpatients appointments are even taking place over the phone. “We are also looking at how we continue to provide care to patients with other conditions,” Mr Williams explained. “Regrettably, that has meant that non-essential surgeries have been cancelled and we have been reducing other non-essential services so that our staff can focus in providing care for those that need it the most.
“We are also looking at how we can take this further if we need to and potentially changing, on a temporary basis, the way that we provide our essential services across Kent and Medway. “This may mean being seen in a different location or by different people than patients are used to.
“I understand that this can be unsettling, but I know that our community understands that we are doing what we must to respond to the challenges of coronavirus.”
While healthcare workers in other parts of the country have raised concerns about a lack of protective equipment for staff, Mr Williams says Kent’s hospitals are well-resourced. “The NHS is strengthening its response every day,” he said. “Our hospitals have good stocks of personal protective equipment, such as masks and gloves, to help staff to treat patients safely, and across the country thousands of retired NHS staff are coming back to support our efforts, and thousands more ventilators are being obtained for the NHS.
“Our expert clinicians and planners are working together with the national and regional NHS to adapt and we will make sure that we communicate any changes that we need to make to our patients and communities.”