Three days ago, a row blew up about wearing Personal Protective Equipment on the wards of Ludlow Community Hospital. That row gained national and local press coverage, along with coverage on the BBC. That coverage accurately reflected the concern within our community that we thought GPs should wear PPE and that we should not be having arguments in a time of crisis. Now the whole matter has been amicably resolved and will, I hope, be quickly forgotten.
Last night, Dr Catherine Beanland and Dr Chris Targett from Portcullis Surgery and ShropCom issued a statement stating that it had been agreed that GPs “working on community hospital wards should adopt additional infection control procedures given their greater exposure to patients in the community.” This is welcome and to me seems common sense.
Joint statement from Shropshire Community Trust and Portcullis Surgery
“Constructive dialogue has taken place today between Dr Catherine Beanland and Dr Chris Targett of Portcullis Surgery and Dr Jane Povey, Medical Director of Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust.
“Both Portcullis Surgery and Shropshire Community Health recognise that the safety of patients and staff is of paramount importance, and the effective use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is central to that.
“Shropshire Community Health continues to adhere to all national guidance on the use of PPE but agrees that General Practitioners working on community hospital wards should adopt additional infection control procedures given their greater exposure to patients in the community.
“Dr Beanland and Dr Targett have now been reassured and confirm that they are confident in the way the Trust is implementing these guidelines at Ludlow Hospital.
“We look forward to continuing to work together in the interests of our patients during this challenging and escalating situation.”
Hmm. Immediate issue (kind of) resolved. All participants find way out with honour. Good old British compromise, but …..Let’s hope in a few weeks’ time we don’t find ourselves looking back on this exchange in tragic circumstances. I don’t want to be over-dramatic, so no Grenfell comparisons (damn it, now I’ve mentioned it)