Croydon’s NHS continues COVID battle and urges patients and visitors to continue wearing masks
Croydon Health Services NHS Trust, along with NHS trusts nationwide, will continue to require patients, visitors and staff to wear a face mask or covering in hospitals and healthcare settings to protect people from COVID-19. People will also be required to wash their hands and follow social distancing rules.
This comes as the UK government confirmed earlier this week that nearly all COVID-19 restrictions will be lifted in England on 19 July. After this date, masks will no longer be required by law - however the government has urged caution as COVID-19 cases continue to increase.
Heroes at Croydon Health Services have worked tirelessly to care for the local community throughout the pandemic, and they continue to do so. COVID cases in the borough have increased by almost 60% in the last seven days, and healthcare staff are currently caring for 38 patients affected by the virus at Croydon University Hospital (as at 16 July).
The Trust’s most senior doctor has today urged local people to continue taking every precaution to help limit the spread of COVID-19 and help protect themselves and others from infection.
Medical Director and Emergency Care Consultant, Dr Subhro Banerjee, at Croydon Health Services NHS Trust said:
“For the past 18 months, wearing masks has helped us to provide care during the pandemic, and reduce transmission of COVID-19 to protect our patients, visitors and staff. It does not stop here. From 19 July, Croydon will keep caring for people with the virus and for many vulnerable patients, for whom catching COVID could have serious consequences. We will be asking our staff to keep wearing their masks and we need our patients and visitors to do the same to stop the spread and prevent people from becoming seriously ill if they’ve not yet had two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.”
Croydon University Hospital (CUH) was one of the first in the country to offer the COVID-19 vaccine and, alongside GPs, pharmacists and neighbouring trusts, has helped to administer 1.6 million doses of the vaccine to people in South West London, including more than 301,000 doses in Croydon.
The Trust has also set up a “hospital within a hospital” in the Croydon Elective Centre at CUH, which acted as an exemplar to NHS trusts across the UK. Isolated from the rest of the hospital, the Centre provides a ‘COVID protected zone’ to safely care for people needing planned surgery or treatment - helping the NHS reduce delays and the backlog caused by the pandemic.
By continuing to wear masks, washing hands and maintaining social distance when in hospitals, GP and community care clinics, people can feel confident that the NHS in Croydon is continuing to provide a safe environment in which to be cared for, visit and work in when the local community needs our health services the most.
ENDS
Notes to editors
- Croydon Health Services NHS Trust runs two hospitals in Croydon as well as providing community health services at home, in schools and in 15 health centres across the borough.
- For more information please contact the Communications Team at chs.comms@nhs.net. For media enquiries outside of normal office hours and weekends, please call the Trust’s main switchboard on 020 8401 3000 and ask for the Press Officer On-Call.