NHS Latest News
Latest news from Torbay and South Devon
We are sending you this update to keep you informed about Trust developments. We thought you would find it especially helpful during the COVID-19 outbreak. Please feel free to share these updates amongst your networks. If you wish to unsubscribe, or you have been passed this update by someone else and you would like to subscribe please email: communications.tsdft@nhs.net
We are ensuring our website has the latest information on it so please do look there for the most up-to-date information www.torbayandsouthdevon.nhs.uk/
You also keep up-to-date by following us on Twitter and Facebook
Your NHS is here for you
If you or a loved one – adult or child – have a health issue we are here for you. Please do seek help. To keep our patients safe we have put a number of things in place including ensuring that patients attending who do not have Covid-19 are treated and cared for away from any patients who are unfortunately suffering from the virus. This includes urgent and emergency care. So if you do need care urgently be assured that you can access it safely. We have also been putting plans in place to provide care in other places such as at Newton Abbot Hospital which is a ‘covid-free’ site, this means that we are not using the hospital to treat people with the virus. As part of this at Newton Abbot we are now piloting thermal imaging with the help of the University of Plymouth to support keeping all our patients and staff safe. Anybody going into the hospital will pass a scanner that will detect a raised temperature, a key sign of infection. You can see more if this on BBC Spotlight tonight (15 May). In the coming weeks we will be providing more and more services and we want you to be assured that if you are offered an appointment or you have need to access a service we will be doing this safely.
Please remember you can still contact your GP, 111 online or call 111 for help. If you are told to go to hospital, you must go. We’ll give you the care you need. www.nhs.uk Our website has the up to date information https://www.torbayandsouthdevon.nhs.uk/
We welcome new doctors into the Trust This week we welcomed 20 new Doctors to the Trust who have chosen to graduate from Medical School early and join our organisation over the next few months to support our services in Torbay, and to support the NHS. I am sure you will want to join us in thanking them all for this important contribution they are making to our current and future care.
GP Practice Bank Holiday
Please note that GP practices will be closed the Bank Holiday on Monday 25 May. If you require to urgently speak to a GP the normal out of hours arrangements will be in place.
COVID-19 Testing Facility
We have had confirmation that the COVID-19 mobile testing centre in Torquay will be here every day until at least Thursday, 21 May. If you are eligible for a test you can go to the mobile testing site at Lymington Road in Torquay, TQ1 4BD, but you will need to book online first. You can apply for a test at http://orlo.uk/Bh2Uk You will need to provide photo ID. The eligibility criteria now applies to if you are a keyworker, over 65, or do a job that you cannot do from home and you or anyone in your household is displaying COVID-19 symptoms. Car park closure – in order for testing to take place the coach station car park is closed to cars and pedestrians and we would ask people for their understanding while the temporary facility is in place.
Quick reminder
Please remember that regular handwashing continues to be very important and if you do develop any of the virus symptoms – including a high temperature, cough or difficulty breathing – do not go to your GP, pharmacist or hospital, but instead self-isolate (stay at home) to reduce the possible spread of infection. If you feel you cannot cope with your symptoms at home, your condition gets worse, or you do not get better after 7 days, please call NHS 111 or visit https://111.nhs.uk/covid-19.
Nightingale Hospital in Exeter – Update
The need for acute care for patients suffering from COVID-19 has been thankfully lower than feared which has meant some changes to the planning for new NHS Nightingale Hospital in Exeter. It has been decided to change the location to Sowton rather than the original Westpoint.
Work to build the latest NHS Nightingale hospital is now underway and it is expected to be completed in mid to late June with 120 beds for Devon, Cornwall and neighbouring counties to support the existing hospital network. It could also be used for those patients with less severe problems associated with COVID-19 – and for those who are recovering after a period in hospital.
Once it has opened, the hospital will be operated by the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust on behalf of all the hospitals in Devon and Cornwall. The five hospitals in the peninsula will continue to provide the majority of care for critically ill patients with COVID-19.
To support the maximum number of beds (120), 450 NHS clinical staff from across the region would work at the hospital. Until they are required, staff will remain on standby – at their existing hospitals or workplaces.
Don’t miss routine vaccinations
The NHS is urging people across the South West to continue getting their regular immunisations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
There are concerns that children and adults may miss their essential, routine vaccinations such as the MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) vaccination and whooping cough (pertussis) for pregnant women.
GP practices across the South West continue to offer all routine immunisations and are doing so in a safe way in accordance with Government social distancing and infection control guidelines.
As long as those attending appointments, including parents of babies or children, do not have symptoms or are not self-isolating because someone in the household is displaying symptoms, all scheduled vaccinations should go ahead as normal.
To arrange a vaccination contact your GP surgery.
Offers of support
We have been and continue to be overwhelmed by the level of support we have received. This means so much to us. We regularly post thanks for some of the amazing donations and support on our social media pages so please do follow us on Facebook and Twitter to see them.
We are aiming to ensure that all donation offers are properly co-ordinated so we ask that anybody wanting to donate goods and services should email tsdft.donations@nhs.net