COVID and impact of winter may lead to operations cancelled in Fife
Elective operations could be cancelled to cope with the demands of winter during the coronavirus pandemic, NHS Fife has said.
The health board yesterday (Wednesday November 25) unveiled its Winter Plan for 2020/21. It aims to prepare essential services for additional demand both linked to the colder weather and the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.
Part of this could include the temporary suspension of elective surgeries such as hip and knee replacements, chief executive Carol Potter said.
"We do recognise that the changes of weather are going to be more significant than ever," she told the board.
"We're preparing ourselves for the real possibility that we will have to postpone our elective services - that wouldn't be taken lightly."
The health board will make use of Scottish Government advice before making any such decision, she added.
Key among the priorities in NHS Fife's Winter Plan is rapid testing for seasonal flu and norovirus as well as Covid-19 for those presenting at hospital to prevent disease from spreading. The plan can be escalated to higher or lower levels depending on how much capacity the service has each day.
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Helen Buchanan, NHS Fife's executive director for nursing, said stopping the spread of Covid was essential to keep the health service running smoothly this winter.
"We have key priorities across the organisation - the first one is obviously Covid-19 and responding to the second, or ongoing, wave of Covid-19," she said.
Part of the plan also revolves around providing NHS staff with additional resources to look after themselves.