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Great Ormond Street children’s hospital has cancelled surgery on children with serious heart problems for two weeks after a health professional there contracted the coronavirus.
The London hospital, which treats seriously ill children from all over the UK, has also cancelled outpatient clinics for under-18s with cardiac conditions.
It is the latest NHS hospital which has had to curtail its services because a member of staff has tested positive for the virus. Last weekend Southampton general hospital had to close its surgical high dependency unit to new admissions after a health professional was found to have the virus.
Great Ormond Street did not name the health professional involved in a statement it posted on its website on Monday or indicate if it was a doctor, nurse or other member of staff.
It is one of the best-known hospitals in the world and treats some children from overseas, especially the Middle East. It is one of the NHS’s network of dedicated children’s hospitals. It has featured in many television documentaries, including the 2015 BBC series Great Ormond Street.
In its statement it said only that: “A healthcare professional who works in our cardiology department has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19).
“We would like to reassure our families that anybody who came into close contact with this individual is being informed and will be offered advice.”
It added: “The majority of services are unaffected and all essential treatment is being carried out, and to ensure patient and staff safety the cardiology department will not be carrying out non-essential cardiac procedures including surgery and outpatients.
“This is for a period of two weeks from Monday 9 March and will be subject to daily review. Any patient affected by this change will be contacted directly.”
The hospital did not say if any patients or other staff were now in isolation following the health worker’s diagnosis.
Its statement said only that: “The trust is working with Public Health England and implementing NHS guidance to control risk from the virus. Patients and staff should continue to attend appointments normally and come into work unless they are unwell or advised not to.”
Courtesy of Denis Campbell theguardian.com
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