A contingency plan has been put in place for Gozo General Hospital to be able to care for Covid-19 patients, Steward Malta has said. It includes details on access, services advice for staff, guidelines and surge plan measures.

It explained that the hospital’s Covid-19 Taskforce is also meeting every day to manage this dynamic situation.

The plan details are as follows:

Access:

• Visitors to the elderly (Residenza Sant’Anna, Male Geriatric) have been stopped to protect our most vulnerable patients.

• Visits to other in-patients have been restricted in both visiting time and number – only 1 visitor is allowed per patient and visiting times are between 11:30-12:00 and 17:00-18:00.

• Access to Gozo General has been restricted to main gate only and all people entering need to be screened for temperature, symptoms and travel/contact history.

Services:

• Non-urgent outpatients clinics have been stopped. • All elective and non-cancer related surgery will be greatly reduced.

• Consultants and other professionals have been urged to vet referrals and appointments and support patients by telephone as much as is safely possible.

Staff:

“Your safety is our priority. You can help too.”

• Please observe basic hygiene rules: wash your hands regularly, maintain hygiene etiquette including shaving of facial hair and keeping fingernails short and clean.

• Avoid crowds and do not travel.

• Respect quarantine rules and follow expert advice.

• Do not panic.

• Comply with training and appropriate use of PPE, donning and doffing, etc.

Steward Malta said that it has secured the ability to provide staff accommodation facilities for staff caring for Covid-19 patients who do not wish to go home. Steward will provide more details in the coming days.

Guidelines/SOPs:

Guidelines based on Evidence Based Medicine for caring for Covid-19 patients have been drafted by the Taskforce, in conjunction with expert advice in Infection Control, Anaesthesia & Critical Care, and Emergency Medicine, as well as WHO/ECDC guidance.

These guidelines cover all aspects of Covid-19 patient care, including:

• Pre-hospital management and patient transfer

• Emergency Department

• Safe handling and transportation of lab samples

• Flow of positive patients and in-patient care

• ITU care

• Operating Theatre

• Imaging (CT. Chest X ray)

This is an evolving situation and guidelines may be subject to change as per expert advice. We will do our best to keep stakeholders updated, Steward said.

Surge Plan Measures:

In line with Phase 1 of the Contingency Plan, the Day Care Unit and the adjacent Decanting Unit will become beds dedicated to Covid-19 patients not needing ITU (31 beds).

More beds can be mobilised in due course. Any urgent surgical and orthopaedic cases will be accommodated in Acute General Wards, Steward said.

In addition, the Orthopaedic Unit is currently being converted to a 10-bedded Covid-19 ITU.

Steward Malta concluded by saying that “in these challenging times, our priority is always to ensure the health, safety and well-being of our patients and of our staff.”

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