MORE patients will be seen at Glasgow’s Louisa Jordan hospital as the NHS adapts to the “new normal” in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
While it has not been needed to treat Covid-19 patients – the purpose it was originally constructed for – First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said it is still a “vital asset” as more NHS services are phased back in.
Since the start of July, a total of 315 patients have had orthopaedic and plastic surgery outpatient consultations at the hospital, which was constructed at theScottish Events Campus (SEC).
After that successful three-week project by NHS Lanarkshire, plans are being put into place to expand the services offered and to increase the number of patients who can be seen from health boards across Scotland.
Key diagnostic tests such as X-rays, CT scanning and ultrasounds will be among the new services offered at the hospital, as well as speciality dermatology
appointments.
Speaking after visiting the hospital, Sturgeon said: “We always hoped that the NHS Louisa Jordan would never be needed for the Covid response and thanks to the continued collective efforts of people across Scotland to suppress the virus, that has been the case.
“When it comes to tackling this virus, we have all had to be flexible and adapt to the ‘new normal’ – and that includes our health service.
“Although the NHS Louisa Jordan has not been required to treat Covid-19 patients, it remains a vital asset in our phased approach to resuming NHS services safely where we can.
“It is providing capacity to reduce waiting lists and improve outcomes for patients across Scotland.”
She added: “I am pleased that while it stands ready to treat patients with the virus at just a few days’ notice, the NHS Louisa Jordan is making a valuable contribution to our health service now, even while the virus remains under control.”
Jill Young, chief executive of the NHS Louisa Jordan, said: “As a national resource for the NHS in Scotland, we are proud to be playing our part in ensuring that more patients are receiving the safe, effective and person-centred care they need during the current situation.
“NHS Louisa Jordan was created through teamwork with a spirit of collaboration which has been shown across NHS Scotland during these challenging times.
“We look forward to working with NHS boards across Scotland to help deliver key outpatient and diagnostic services for patients.”
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Meanwhile, it was confirmed that Scotland has registered no new deaths of coronavirus patients for 11 days in a row.
It means the total death toll remains at 2491.
Scottish Government figures show there were three new Covid-19 cases recorded between Sunday and yesterday, compared with four in the previous 24 hours.
There was one new case each in NHS Lanarkshire, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Ayrshire and Arran.
A total of 18,554 people have now tested positive for the virus in Scotland.
Monday’s figures show 270 people are in hospital with confirmed Covid-19 – up three in 24 hours – and of these two patients are in intensive care, no change on the previous day.
The latest figures show there were 4315 daily tests that reported results, giving a rate of 0.1% of newly tested people being classed as positive. This is a marginal drop from Sunday’s figures, when 0.2% of the 9106 tests done in the preceding day came back positive.
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