NHS Lanarkshire aims to reintroduce non-urgent elective procedures next month if Covid hospital admissions move in the right direction.
The decision was taken last month to temporarily postpone all non-urgent elective procedures and a targeted range of outpatient appointments for an initial period of four weeks.
This was extended for a further three weeks. A number of clinically urgent and priority procedures are not affected.
This allows NHS Lanarkshire to focus acute service delivery on Covid-19 in-patients and emergency care.
Treatments for urgent cancer care remained in place and all three acute sites continue to operate an emergency service for theatres and diagnostics.
The majority of outpatient appointments continue to be stood down in order to redeploy nurses to support the delivery on urgent and emergency inpatient care.
The number of patients being treated in Lanarkshire hospitals with Covid-19 peaked at around 350 during the second half of January but has gradually decreased this month.
Judith Park, NHS Lanarkshire director of acute services, said: “The number of Covid-19 patients in our hospitals has stabilised and is showing signs of falling, albeit gradually. However, ICU numbers remain high and there is still continued pressure on our resources.
“To ensure our services operate as safely as possible, we have taken the decision to extend the postponement of non-urgent outpatient appointments and planned procedures at all our acute sites for a further three weeks.
“However, we are optimistic we will be able to reintroduce these procedures from the first week of March if the numbers in our hospitals continue to fall.
“The safety of our patients is always our top priority. Winter is always a difficult time for the NHS and the current pandemic has had an additional impact on our services.
“The decision to postpone any appointment is not one that we take lightly and I apologise for the impact this will have on patients. Most patients will receive a text message confirming the postponement of their appointment.
“A small number of appointments will still go ahead as scheduled. Appointments will be prioritised based on clinical need and those patients who are deemed clinically urgent will be rebooked. Patients will receive a letter, text message or voice message giving details of their new appointment.”
Maternity and neonatal clinics will continue as normal in the meantime. Appointments for urgent referrals, including cancer referrals, will also continue.
