* Will TEWV staff still visit my home for appointments?
Where it is identified that you require face-to-face support, Trust staff may still visit you at your home. Our staff (and all visitors) should wash their hands with soap and water for 20 seconds, on arrival and often.
* Will my planned appointments still go ahead?
Where possible, and appropriate, we will be doing appointments remotely, either by telephone or video-conferencing, so you will still receive the care you need. Please contact your care team if you have any questions about a specific appointment.
* How will I get my medication?
The government is helping pharmacies to deliver prescriptions. Prescriptions will continue to cover the same length of time as usual. If you do not currently have your prescriptions collected or delivered, you can arrange this by:
Asking someone who can pick up your prescription from the local pharmacy, (this is the best option, if possible);
Contacting your pharmacy to ask them to help you find a volunteer (who will have been ID checked) or deliver it to you.
You may also need to arrange for collection or delivery of specialist medication that we prescribe you. Please contact your care team to discuss this.
* Can I visit patients in your hospitals and inpatient units?
In light of national guidance, to help further prevent the spread of coronavirus we have temporarily suspended visits to all of our inpatient wards*.
You cannot visit any patient being cared for by the Trust.
We appreciate that this is a difficult decision but it’s important that we protect the people in our care, as well as our staff. We know keeping in touch with family and friends is important so we’re looking at ways we can offer this including tablets on wards to facilitate ‘virtual’ visiting and friends.
We do not know how long these measures will be in place but we will continue to update you on the situation.
*We recognise that there may be some exceptions, for example end of life care, and decisions will be made on a case by case basis.
* Is the CQC still carrying out inspections?
The CQC has released this statement:
“As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic we’ve [CQC] suspended our routine inspections to reduce the pressure on health and social care services during the coronavirus outbreak.
We’ll still monitor them using data and information, and we will still visit if we think there’s a risk of harm or abuse.
Because of these changes, it’s even more important that we hear feedback about services that people are using or are working at.
Experiences of care are more important to us now than ever. If you want to tell us about an experience of care or give feedback about a care service, you can do this here: https://www.cqc.org.uk/give-feedback-on-care.”
There’s more information on the QCQ website: www.cqc.org.uk