Elective and surgical procedures postponed at Altnagelvin Hospital due to 'sharp rise' in Covid admissions

The Western Health and Social Care Trust is experiencing a period of rising numbers of Covid-19 positive results in both the community and in hospital, which has resulted in the temporary postponement of some Elective and Surgical Procedures. 

Commenting on the issue Western Trust Director of Acute Services, Geraldine McKay, said: “Patients that require hospital admission with Covid-19 have risen sharply in recent days and presently we have 20 positive Covid-19 patients in Altnagelvin.

“In addition we have admitted two (2) new Covid-19 patients in South West Acute Hospital, Enniskillen, meaning that we currently have six (6) Covid-19 patients in total in SWAH.

“This number is a considerable rise compared with the small number of cases in our Hospitals last week and we would note these numbers are fluid and can change daily.

“As a result the Trust has now implemented our initial surge plan and this will be kept under constant review.    

“The impact of the rise in hospital and community cases has meant that the Trust has postponed 12 elective procedures at Altnagelvin and has also resulted in a reduction in our surgical capacity with 15 patients having their procedures postponed on Thursday 8th and Friday 9th July.

“We apologise to the 27 patients in total who have been affected, all of whom have now been contacted by the Trust. We have also already moved to reschedule their appointment dates as soon as is possible to do so.”

In light of the situation the Trust is again highlighting the importance of vaccination, social distancing and public health advice given the high Covid-19 figures, particularly in the North West.

Everyone who takes up both doses of the vaccination is helping keep their family, friends and the wider community safe from the worst effects of Covid and helping us all to move towards getting life back to some degree of normality. We urge everyone who has yet to receive their invitation to take up the offer.

Everyone over 18 can now book their vaccination by visiting the online booking portal https://covid-19.hscni.net/get-vaccinated/; or by calling the regional booking line on 0300 200 7813 from Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5.30pm.

The Western Trust is also providing a series of Walk-In and Mobile vaccination clinics and the Trust would encourage everyone to regularly check its news and social media channels for updates and to come along to their nearest clinic when the opportunity arises.

To find out about available slots you can visit the Western Trust Vaccination Info page: bit.ly/WTCOVID19Vaccination

Anyone attending a walk in clinic at one of the Western Trust Mass Vaccination Centres is reminded to wear a face covering (unless exempt for medical reasons), adhere to social distancing rules and bring along their Health and Care Number (HCN) and ID if possible.

If attending a pre-booked appointment, we would also request bringing the booking reference number.