As the situation around Coronavirus continues to evolve, we are doing everything we can to protect the health and wellbeing of our patients, members of the public and employees.

 This has resulted in us implementing new measures to ensure maximum safety, and this now includes restricting access for patient visitors for both outpatients and patients on the ward.

We thank you in advance for your understanding and apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause.

Latest Update

Cancellation of potential high risk patient procedures

21/12/2020

Due to the current Covid-19 situation, hospitals within Kent and Sussex are currently under extreme pressure and operating near to or beyond capacity for beds and staff within their ITUs (Intensive Therapy Units).

The McIndoe Centre relies on the support of Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust (MTW) if a patient requires emergency transfer to an ITU facility. At this current time, MTW cannot guarantee that they would be able to accept a transfer from The McIndoe Centre, therefore it is with regret that we have no option but to cancel any surgery that has the potential risk of requiring higher-level care.

We are aiming to proceed with minor operations for low-risk patients until the 23rd December. The Centre will close from midday on the 24th December, reopening on the 4th January 2021.

It is not currently thought that the situation in January will be significantly better; therefore, we have taken the decision to only proceed with minor, low risk surgery for the first two weeks whilst we assess the situation within the NHS Trusts.

Outpatient activity, including MSK, physiotherapy, pre-admission and diagnostics will continue as per normal.

Patient safety remains our very highest priority. Please be assured we will continue to monitor the situation and if further changes are required, we will advise accordingly.

Previous Update: Patient Visitors

09/11/2020

At this current time, visitors are only allowed to accompany a patient to an outpatient consultation or visit a patient in exceptional circumstances. If a permitted carer or visitor is required, please contact us in advance so this can be approved by the appropriate clinical team and we can make the necessary arrangements required to maintain patient and staff safety.

We kindly ask that if someone is driving you to your outpatient appointment, please ask them to wait for you in the car until your appointment is finished. This is to reduce the number of people coming into the hospital at this time.

Supporting the NHS

The McIndoe Centre has been supporting the NHS, working in close coordination with Queen Victoria Hospital (QVH) and their clinical staff. Since the beginning of April, we have been treating patients suffering from maxillofacial and plastics trauma, as well as urgent eye conditions. This has helped provide capacity for QVH to become the regional cancer hub for breast, skin and head and neck cancers.

To date, we have performed more than 250 operations. The nature of many of these injuries reflect the current lockdown situation; we have seen a rise in injuries resulting from domestic incidents, dog and cat attacks and power tool accidents.

We have performed these surgeries in our theatres, with one theatre available 24 hours a day to ensure limb threatening injuries can be treated immediately. Minor operations have taken place in our treatment rooms on an outpatient basis.

Major case plastic surgery reconstructions have also taken place, some even involving surgery techniques pioneered by Sir Archibald McIndoe on this exact site. We are privileged to honour his legacy and mark his 120^th birthday anniversary that took place earlier this month (May 4).

» Read our CEO statement

Symptoms of COVID-19

Following advice published by NHS, please do not leave your home if you have either:

• high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
• new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
• loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you've noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal
• No one in your household should leave home if any one person has symptoms.

Find out how to get a test, and how long to isolate, at nhs.uk/coronavirus

See latest guidance from Public Health England

Prevention

Public Health England (PHE) recommends that the following general cold and flu precautions are taken to help prevent people from catching and spreading COVID-19:

• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze.
• Put used tissues in the bin straight away
• Wash your hands with soap and water often – use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available.
• Try to avoid close contact with people who are unwell.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

Useful Links

Public Health England government guidance

NHS 111 online coronavirus service

NHS Stay at Home Guidance