As part of a major deal with NHS England, Ramsay Health Care UK will provide additional emergency capacity to the NHS from all our hospitals. This will include the provision of urgent acute, trauma, medical and cancer cases.
Duchy Hospital is working closely with Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust (RCHT) and has made its entire hospital capacity and all staff available to help in the fight against COVID-19.
It has been agreed that there will be a complete relocation of Lowen ward to Duchy Hospital. Lowen Ward is an 18-bed ward that specialises in looking after haematology, oncology and palliative care patients.
In addition, the RCHT medical day unit and staff will also relocate to Duchy Hospital. This specialist unit can assess and treat patients within the same day for a wide range of medical conditions. The move of both of these departments takes place on the 2nd and 3rd April.
Duchy Hospital has also immediately deployed an anaesthetist, an orthopaedic theatre team as well as physiotherapists and occupational therapists to assist the trauma team at St Michael’s, Hayle. In order to support the Trust’s critical care plan for the later phases of COVID-19, any Duchy Hospital clinical staff with relevant skills will be trained to work in ITU in the coming weeks in order to ensure they are available when needed.
Duchy Hospital and Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust have a long-standing partnership and this partnership is even more important as we stand together as one team to face the challenges ahead.
Louise Rowbotham, Hospital Director at Duchy Hospital said: “Duchy Hospital will do everything it takes to support Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust and the people of Cornwall at this time of crisis. Our staff are ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with the NHS at the frontline to fight against COVID-19.”
Kate Shields, Chief Executive at RCHT added: “It’s fantastic to see how our local community is rallying round to make sure Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly get through this together. The support from Ramsay and the team at Duchy will be really important to our combined efforts and will help us to save lives and do the absolute best we can for our people.”