COVID-19 – Important information for all patients

Outpatients

You are not required to wear a mask when visiting the MSG at Alexandra House or Mill House but please wear one if you feel more comfortable doing so.

If you have an outpatient appointment and you have symptoms of COVID-19 or have been a close contact of someone with COVID-19 in the previous 10 days, please call your consultant’s PA on 01481 238565 or email health@msg.gg with your full name, date of birth, date of appointment and name of consultant.

If you have been in close contact with someone with COVID-19, you may be seen provided that:

• You have a negative lateral flow test (LFT) on the day
• You are at the end of the clinic
• You spend as little time as possible in waiting rooms etc
• You wear a mask and practice good hand hygiene

LFTs are available to islanders free of charge 

Elective (non-urgent) surgery or endoscopy

If you are due to have elective surgery or a procedure such as endoscopy, please follow the guidance below to protect yourself and help us protect other patients and our staff.

It is important to avoid the risk of developing COVID-19 at the time of surgery as it increases your risk of a poor outcome or death.

Testing for COVID-19

Testing for COVID-19 is required for patients admitted to the hospital for elective surgery and endoscopy. This will involve one lateral flow test done by the nurse or midwife on your arrival at the hospital.

Masks

You will be required to wear a mask while in the hospital. All staff will also wear masks.

Symptoms of COVID-19 or contact with COVID-19

If you have symptoms of COVID-19, or have been a close contact of someone with COVID-19 during the 10-day period before admission, please call your consultant’s PA on 01481 238565 or the hospital admissions department.

If you have symptoms of COVID-19, even with a negative test, we will postpone elective surgery until your symptoms have resolved.

If you have been in close contact with a COVID-19 positive case and you were due to be admitted for surgery under a general anaesthetic or for an aerosol generating procedure (AGP) such as endoscopy we will need to postpone your surgery or procedure for at least 10 days from the date of contact.

If you have been in close contact with a COVID-19 positive case and you were due to be admitted for surgery under a local anaesthetic, you may be seen provided that:

• You have a negative LFT on the day
• You are at the end of the operating list
• You spend as little time as possible in waiting rooms etc
• You wear a mask and practice good hand hygiene

If you have had COVID-19 in the seven-week period before surgery

If you have a positive LFT or PCR test for COVID-19 during the seven weeks before surgery, please let your consultant’s PA know as soon as possible so we can undertake the necessary risk assessment.

• Adult patients will usually have elective surgery postponed for seven weeks after COVID-19 infection.
• Children for elective will be postponed for a minimum of 14 days after COVID-19 infection but it may not be necessary to postpone for the full seven weeks.
• Urgent and emergency surgery will not always be postponed but please still inform us as soon as possible.

Protecting yourself before surgery

There are a range of measures you can take to reduce your risks before surgery. These range from the simple measures below to a period of up to two weeks of isolation from other people.

Simple measures could include:

• Asking friends and family to take LFTs before visiting
• You and the people you meet wearing face masks
• Improved ventilation
• Avoiding crowds especially in enclosed spaces
• Hand hygiene and social distancing

The exact measures you choose to adopt will depend on your own risk profile and the type of surgery you are having. The following factors increase your risk:

• Age over 65
• Major surgery
• Underlying health conditions such as diabetes, respiratory and heart conditions
• Ethnic origin
• Male

Having full COVID-19 vaccination (with booster doses when due) will further reduce your risk.

If you have not yet had a full course of COVID vaccination we recommend you arrange this before elective surgery by emailing the vaccine centre VCC@gov.gg. We would normally recommend surgery is scheduled at least 14 days after your last COVID-19 vaccine.

We review this advice regularly and update it if the situation changes.