Bucks Healthcare NHS Trust announces temporary changes to services to fight coronavirus

The changes include:

- No visitors to any of the inpatient wards*

- Only the patient to attend outpatient antenatal/ scans/ postnatal appointments

- Suspending all new routine referrals and face to face outpatient appointments. Urgent referrals are being triaged and prioritised as per the most important clinical need

- Clinical review of all existing outpatient appointments and conducting these by telephone where possible

- Postponing routine elective surgery and diagnostic procedures where clinically appropriate

- Transferring some clinically urgent cancer surgery to the Chiltern Hospital in Great Missenden from this week

- Re-opening of Chartridge Ward at Amersham Hospital

- Suspending the Community Assessment and Treatment Service (CATS) at Marlow, Thame and Amersham hospitals

- Suspending the community pharmacy service at Amersham Hospital

- Suspending access to radiology at Marlow and Chalfont community sites

- No births at the Wycombe Birthing Centre **

- Moving the children’s day unit from Wycombe Hospital to the Stoke Mandeville site

- Suspending the breast and bowel screening programmes and some community based services e.g. school nursing in line with national guidance. Clinically urgent cases are being reviewed and prioritised.

- No new routine admissions to the National Spinal Injuries Centre

All of the above changes are with immediate effect. Please call 01296 316042 or 01494 734958 if you have any queries.

Chief executive of Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, Neil Macdonald, said: “I would personally like to thank the residents of Buckinghamshire for their patience and understanding during what is an unprecedented and challenging time for all of us.

“Our main priority is to ensure the safety of our patients and staff. These temporary changes will enable us to protect and care for the most vulnerable both in the community and in our hospitals.

“What we need you to do is to stay at home, don’t meet with anyone outside your household and respect social distancing to stop the virus from spreading. It really will make a difference and save lives.”

* The only exceptional circumstances where one visitor – an immediate family member of carer – will be permitted to visit are:

- The patient you wish to visit is receiving end-of-life care

- You are the birthing partner accompanying a woman in labour

- You are a parent or carer visiting the neonatal ward

- You are a parent or carer visiting your child