This lockdown has certainly changed all our lives, and has completely changed healthcare. As you can tell from the news, Covid patients have become the bread and butter of NHS hospitals. To deal with this all elective surgery has stopped in most NHS hospitals to clear theatres and intensive care unit beds for Covid patients. NHS hospitals have managed to quadruple or quintuple the number of ventilator beds available.
The private sector including HCA, Spire group and Kims have all given their beds and theatre capacity to the NHS to deal with time-critical patients requiring procedures – mostly cancer patients.
Outpatient clinics have been reduced in the NHS and converted to telephone clinics.
My service
In the private sector, we too are converting clinics to Video or telephone consultations, and these are now covered by all major insurers.
Appointments are available Monday morning, Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Just reply to this email and we can book you in, or call 01634510521.
I can call using FaceTime / Skype / WhatsApp as these are secure platforms. Consultations are not recorded, but a clinic letter will be generated as usual.
Tests can be performed now via post for ECG and blood pressure monitoring, or for tests such as echo scans, at a dedicated clean outpatient diagnostic facility with full PPE for patients and staff. This is at One Welbeck Street in Marylebone, London.
The current information is that private Hospitals in Kent and London are closed to usual activity until at least mid July to allow them to focus on helping the NHS deal with time-critical patients.
If you need a procedure that can be safely deferred, this will be scheduled once normal service resumes.
Stay safe,
Shaumik