Off-island patients face a month of quarantine
SOME hospital patients are facing four weeks in quarantine if they need off-island treatment, Health & Social Care has confirmed.
Any patients travelling to University Hospital Southampton, who are being admitted for inpatient treatment, will now have to self-isolate for 14 days in Guernsey prior to travelling to the UK. This is in addition to the requirement to self-isolate for 14 days when travellers return to the Bailiwick.
To date, this is only a requirement for patients being admitted to UHS, although it is anticipated to be a NHS-wide requirement.
Anyone who has inpatient appointments scheduled will be contacted by UHS to advise them of their requirements around self-isolation when they call to arrange admission.
Patients with existing appointments within 14 days, who have not been self-isolating, may be advised that their admissions might need to be postponed.
Anyone travelling to UHS for an outpatient appointment does not need to self-isolate before they travel for treatment, but they will still need to self-isolate for 14 days when they return to the Bailiwick.
If patients require any further information they should contact the Off-Island Team at the hospital on 725241 or by emailing hsctag@gov.gg.
In addition to UHS self-isolation requirements, HSC have been asked to provide a Covid-19 swab test for all Bailiwick patients 48 hours prior to their appointment. This is being supported through Guernsey's current testing programme with the results sent electronically to UHS.
Any emergency patients are also tested for Covid-19 prior to their transfer to the UK using Guernsey's rapid testing protocol where the results are available within one hour.
The requirements of UHS are not dissimilar to the requirements being placed on Bailiwick patients, who are attending the PEH and require a general anaesthetic. These patients will also be required to self-isolate for 14 days before their procedure. This is based on implementing best practice and ensuring overall patient safety because anyone who contracts Covid-19 during or following a general anaesthetic might otherwise suffer very poor outcomes.
Anyone attending the PEH and not having a general anaesthetic will not have to self-isolate for 14 days beforehand.
